Summary Under the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), national, regional and local authorities responsible for spatial and development plans would have to consider including provisions for data centre projects in designated acceleration zones, and for the necessary infrastructure (Article 10(3)). Member States would also ensure relevant spatial planning data are available to operators. Where such plans require assessment under the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive and the Habitats Directive, those assessments would be combined — and, where applicable, the combined assessment would also address impacts on affected water bodies under the Water Framework Directive.

Detail

CADA proposes to expand EU data centre capacity by harmonising and accelerating deployment. A central mechanism is the "data centre acceleration zone." While Article 10(1) sets the aspects for designating zones and Article 10(2) addresses energy-needs analysis, Article 10(3) deals with integrating zones into existing spatial and development planning. CADA is a proposal and not yet in force; the points below describe what the text would require.

Integration into spatial and development plans

Article 10(3) provides that national, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing spatial and development plans "shall consider including, in those plans, provisions for the development of data centre projects deployed in acceleration zones, and of the necessary infrastructure."

The aim is to keep projects from being blocked by incompatible zoning. Including data centre provisions in spatial plans lets authorities pre-empt land-use conflicts and earmark land in a zone for this use. The reference to "necessary infrastructure" extends beyond the data centres themselves to enabling infrastructure such as connectivity, grid connections and waste-heat reuse facilities.

Article 10(3) also provides that Member States "shall ensure that all relevant spatial planning data are available to data centre operators" — transparency that helps operators navigate the planning landscape.

Combined environmental assessments

Fragmented environmental assessment has long been a deployment bottleneck. Article 10(3) addresses this: where spatial and development plans are subject to assessment under the SEA Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC) and Article 6 of the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC), "those assessments shall be combined."

Combining them replaces separate, sequential procedures with a single integrated assessment at the plan level, reducing administrative burden and giving a holistic view of the zone's environmental impact.

Addressing water bodies

The proposal extends the combined assessment to water resources: "Where applicable, the combined assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies referred to in Directive 2000/60/EC" — the Water Framework Directive. As data centres can be significant water consumers (notably for cooling), this brings water availability and quality into the planning phase, helping head off later disputes over abstraction or environmental harm.

Coordination and involvement

Article 10(3) operates alongside Article 10(4), which requires Member States, when designating zones, to ensure the involvement of and coordination among all relevant national, regional and local authorities and entities — including electronic-communications operators (Directive (EU) 2018/1972) and electricity transmission and distribution system operators (Directive (EU) 2019/944). This helps ensure the provisions placed in spatial plans are technically feasible and aligned with grid and network capabilities.

What this means for you

For public-sector and procurement officers, Article 10(3) shifts the emphasis from reactive permitting to proactive planning — making sure the underlying spatial and development plans are ready to support data centres.

  1. Review current spatial plans. Audit national, regional and local plans for data centre provisions. If your region has, or plans to designate, an acceleration zone, you would consider updating plans to include provisions for data centre development and necessary infrastructure; gaps can create legal ambiguity that delays projects.
  2. Streamline environmental assessments. Identify plans subject to both the SEA and Habitats Directives and prepare to combine those assessments rather than running them separately — requiring collaboration across environmental, planning and heritage functions.
  3. Assess water impact early. Build the data and expertise to evaluate water-body impacts under the Water Framework Directive, engaging water authorities early on abstraction and discharge constraints.
  4. Ensure data availability. Make relevant spatial planning data accessible to operators, as Article 10(3) envisages — this also builds investor confidence.
  5. Coordinate with infrastructure operators. Align plans with grid-connection and network-expansion strategies so the "necessary infrastructure" is feasible.

Common misconceptions

  • Misconception 1: Spatial planning provisions are guaranteed to be adopted.
    • Reality: Article 10(3) says authorities "shall consider including" such provisions. That is a duty to consider and evaluate, leaving some discretion based on local conditions — it is not an automatic requirement to insert specific provisions in every plan, though it is framed to push in that direction given the proposal's goals.
  • Misconception 2: Environmental assessments can still be run separately.
    • Reality: Where the SEA and Habitats Directives both apply to the plan, the proposal states the assessments "shall be combined." Member States would not keep them separate for such plans.
  • Misconception 3: Water impacts are only assessed at the individual project permit stage.
    • Reality: Article 10(3) requires the combined assessment at plan level to address water-body impacts where applicable — integrating water into the high-level planning phase, not leaving it to the individual permit.
  • Misconception 4: Only national authorities are responsible for spatial plans.
    • Reality: Article 10(3) names "national, regional and local authorities." Where planning is decentralised, regional and local authorities must also review and update their plans.

Related

This is general information about a draft EU regulation, not legal advice.