Goodman Group has abandoned plans for an $800 million hyperscale data centre on Sydney’s north shore after strong opposition from local residents and concerns from utilities about the pressure it could place on existing infrastructure.
The proposed 28-metre Project Mars facility in Lane Cove West would have operated around the clock, with an 81-megawatt capacity. Its construction would have involved demolishing and excavating four warehouses.
In a letter to the New South Wales government, Goodman’s head of planning, Guy Smith, said the company was withdrawing the application after considering changes to policy and feedback received during the planning process.
“During this time, the policy and regulatory environment for large-scale data centre development has evolved significantly,” the company said. “Goodman has carefully considered these changes together with feedback received through the planning process, including the views of the local community.”
Project Mars data centre faced utility concerns
The proposed site was next to a park, about 50 metres from low-density housing and roughly 160 metres from Lane Cove West Public School.
Sydney Water said it could not support the project progressing without more detailed assessments of its effect on water demand and wastewater. It warned that the existing drinking water system had “limited capacity to service the development”.
At full capacity, the facility was expected to use about 35 litres of water a second during peak periods and around 1.4 million litres each day.
Ausgrid also raised concerns about whether the development was compatible with existing infrastructure, calling for consideration of “risks of electrocution, fire risks” as well as noise and visual impacts.
The proposal became a point of contention during a federal Senate inquiry into data centres and artificial intelligence. Goodman senior executives appeared by video link, but their evidence was disrupted by technical problems.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson described the proposal as “wholly unreasonable, and frankly a grossly irresponsible proposal which shows contempt for local residents”.
Sasha Titchkosky, a spokesperson for Lane Cove Responsible Planning, said the community was “overjoyed” by the withdrawal, describing the response as a mixture of “happiness and relief”.
She said the decision showed residents could influence developments when they worked together, and hoped it would encourage data centre companies to consider more carefully what communities would be expected to live with.
Another major data centre proposal remains before Lane Cove. AirTrunk is seeking approval for a 37-metre, 140-megawatt facility between Apollo Place and Mars Road.
There are 41 state-significant data centre projects in Sydney’s development pipeline, with 18 already approved. The facilities require uninterrupted electricity and a constant supply of water to cool their servers.
Anthony Roberts, the MP for Lane Cove, said Goodman’s decision was a “commonsense win” and urged other developers to choose sites carefully before submitting proposals.
“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,” he said.
