A new Hazelmere data centre proposal has prompted fresh concern among residents, five months after opposition forced GreenSquareDC to withdraw plans for a $600 million facility in Perth’s east.
Canberra Data Centres is seeking approval to build a $337 million, four-storey centre at 178 and 196 Bushmead Road, about two kilometres from the former GreenSquareDC site.
The proposed development would occupy 85,945 square metres and include 87 parking bays. Plans lodged with the City of Swan state that up to 75 people would be on site at any one time, with the facility operating around the clock, seven days a week.
Public consultation opened this week, while a petition submitted on September 30 called for a comprehensive independent assessment and meaningful community involvement before any decision is made.
The petition says the potential effects on nearby residents, the Helena River, wetlands, waterways, native wildlife, threatened species and the wider environment must be properly considered.
It also calls for transparency and enforceable conditions to address the possible impacts of the development and associated infrastructure. So far, 53 people have signed the petition.
Hazelmere data centre proposal faces environmental concerns
The response echoes the campaign against GreenSquareDC’s earlier plan, which attracted 1,890 submissions to the City of Swan. Of those, 1,829 opposed the proposal.
That scheme involved a three-storey centre beside the Helena River Waldorf School, on two Aboriginal heritage sites and about 40 metres from the river channel.
Opponents raised concerns at several council meetings about environmental damage, noise pollution and cultural insensitivity. Trillion Trees, which campaigned against the original development, has also criticised the Canberra Data Centres proposal.
“Development of this land will mean the loss of one of the last remaining pockets of significant remnant vegetation on private land in Hazelmere,” the organisation said in a press release.
It said connected vegetation corridors were important to native wildlife already under threat, including Carnaby’s black cockatoos and snake-necked turtles.
Trillion Trees said community concerns included the loss of tree canopy and wetlands, the scale of the project and its proximity to homes, and urged people to make submissions.
The City of Swan said it would not determine the application. A council spokesperson said the proposal would be decided by the Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel because of the value of the proposed works.
Submissions on the Canberra Data Centres plans close on November 5.
