Plans to develop a $1.2 billion data centre just 20 metres from homes in the Sydney suburb of Lane Cove have been dropped following intense push-back from the local community and campaigners.
Goodman Group confirmed it had dropped its development application for the data facility known as Project Mars, saying it had carefully the views of the local community and concluded it would not proceed with the development.
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The proposal for Project Mars received 374 submissions during consultation, with only nine in support of the project.
Anthony Roberts, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove, said, “This is a common-sense win for our community. This victory sends a clear message to other data centre developers. To find suitable locations before putting proposals forward.
“Data centres have an important role to play, but developments of this size and scale need to be appropriately located and planned with the surrounding community in mind.”
A similar scenario unfolded in the Blue Mountains in June, when local campaigners forced a company to withdrawn its development application for a $4.8 million data centre in Katoomba.
The Stop Data Centres Blue Mountains group fought the DA over concerns about 24/7 low-frequency noise intrusion, launching a petition and filing formal objections with council.
While the Australian Government is keen to attract investment from global AI companies, there has been an upswell in opposition from communities concerned about the noise, water usage and power demands of data centres, as well as their impacts on biodiversity.
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The New South Wales government recently announced it would be introducing a fast-track programme for data centres that would allow them to be assessed within 75 days, provided they meet strict requirements and fund their own water and energy supplies.
