Data centers in Rockingham County, New Hampshire: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Nottingham voters approved a 12-month moratorium on data center development on September 8, 2026, by 1,335 votes to 143. It followed Rockingham County's only data center proposal: Hampton businessman Tom Moulton's plan to turn a vacant warehouse at his Nottingham Business Park on Route 4 into a data center. Moulton withdrew it on May 27, the day of the planning board meeting, after an online petition against it drew more than 25,000 signatures in the days before the planning board meeting.

Almost everyone in Nottingham draws water from private wells. "My neighbors, specifically, had to actually drill deeper, just to get water," said Rudy Pavlesich. Rep. Scott Bryer, a Northwood Republican, cited a 2004 consultant's report that found a bottling plant's planned withdrawal of more than 300,000 gallons a day at the same site unsustainable. "This community does not want this," he said. Moulton withdrew without prejudice, so he could file again, and said he had no client lined up.

Planning board chair Drew Stevens said the pause gives the town time to make zoning changes that could ban data centers permanently. State law offers towns little help: a 2026 bill to define data centers and give towns more control died in the House, 304-11. "Municipalities are left with whatever they have in place right now, today," said its co-sponsor, Sen. Debra Altschiller of Stratham. Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she will propose a statewide data center moratorium in her next budget.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.