Tritax Big Box REIT has delayed the expected delivery of its Manor Farm data centre in Slough after the planning timetable slipped again. 

A decision from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is now due on or before 9 June 2026, setting the project back yet again. According to the company, it had previously expected consent in December 2025, before being told in December that a decision would likely arrive around mid-March 2026. 

The revised schedule means practical completion is now expected between October 2027 and March 2028, rather than the earlier July to December 2027 window. For a sector already grappling with power constraints, grid queues and long development lead times, it is another example of how slowly major projects can move from ambition to reality in the UK.

That awkwardly jars with the Government’s recent insistence that it is taking the brakes off infrastructure delivery. When the Planning and Infrastructure Act received Royal Assent in December 2025, ministers said it would ‘slash delays and costs’ and help get critical infrastructure built faster. The Government also said the reforms should speed up major infrastructure projects by 12 months on average.

The rhetoric has only grown stronger since. In Budget 2025, the Government said it wanted to fast-track 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure by the end of this Parliament, while judicial review reforms were billed as a way to cut further delays from the system.

None of that changes the immediate reality for Tritax Big Box, which still needs planning consent before Manor Farm can move ahead on the timetable it wants. The company has said it remains confident in the project’s long-term merits and still expects to book development profit from Manor Farm in 2026, supported by a successful planning application and a pre-let.

But for a Government big on both planning reform and making the UK a leader in AI technology, it’s a useful reality check. The Government may have vowed to reform planning, but until major schemes start moving through the system faster, developers will be forgiven for wondering how much has really changed – and that could ultimately impact investment.