Residents in Hazelmere, Perth’s east, are facing a second campaign against a proposed data centre after Canberra Data Centres lodged plans for a $337 million facility near the site of an earlier project abandoned following strong public opposition.
The Canberra-based developer wants to build a four-storey centre at 178 and 196 Bushmead Road, about two kilometres from the location proposed by GreenSquareDC. Public consultation on the application opened this week.
Plans submitted to the City of Swan show the development would occupy 85,945 square metres and include 87 parking bays. Up to 75 people would be on site at any one time, with the facility operating around the clock, seven days a week.
The proposal has already prompted a petition calling for a comprehensive independent assessment and meaningful consultation before any decision is made. The petition, submitted by local resident Melita McDonald on September 30, had attracted 53 signatures.
It says the potential effects on nearby residents, the Helena River, wetlands, waterways, native wildlife, threatened species and the wider environment must be properly considered and protected.
The campaign follows the withdrawal five months ago of GreenSquareDC’s application for a $600 million data centre near the Helena River. The company’s plans received 1,890 submissions to the City of Swan, of which 1,829 opposed the development.
That proposed three-storey facility would have been built beside the Helena River Waldorf School, on two Aboriginal heritage sites and about 40 metres from the river channel. Opponents raised concerns about environmental impacts, noise and cultural insensitivity.
Trillion Trees, which opposed the earlier scheme, has also criticised the Canberra Data Centres proposal. The organisation said developing the site would result in the loss of one of the last remaining areas of significant remnant vegetation on private land in Hazelmere.
It said connected vegetation corridors were important to the survival of native wildlife, including Carnaby’s black cockatoos and snake-necked turtles, and cited concerns about the loss of tree canopy and wetlands, the scale of the project and its proximity to homes.
The City of Swan has said it is not the decision-maker on the application. A council spokesperson said the proposal would be determined by the Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel because of the value of the planned works.
Public submissions on the Canberra Data Centres proposal close on November 5.
