Paris bins banlieue bit barn because cloud is too loud

Interxion will have to launch an appeal in France if it's to save a €130m-plus data centre in Paris.

An administrative court in the Paris suburb of Montreuil has withdrawn the 9,000 square metre data centre's planning permission following action brought by residents.

The residents had three complaints: the bit-barn's refrigeration units were too noisy; they worried about the 580,000 litres of diesel stored on-site to power the facility's backup generators; and they complained that the DC was bringing 15 truck trips daily to the area.

Le Monde reports (here, in French) that the court found the environmental impact statement for the facility was inadequate.

Noise was the killer for the data centre. Le Monde says the court found Interxion had promised to soundproof its generators and, after construction, would conduct acoustic surveys to assess whether extra acoustic shielding would be needed, or some kind of compensation paid to residents across the road from the facility. It did not meet those commitments.

Other data centres in the vicinity will doubtless be sweating on whether or not Interxion launches an appeal over the ruling within the two-month deadline.

Data Centre Dynamics says Montreuil is a popular spot for “edge” data centres in Paris. ®