Plans for a controversial $1.2bn datacentre in Lane Cove in Sydney’s north have been withdrawn, with the developer blaming “emerging” regulations from the state and federal governments for the decision to pull the plug. The “Project Mars” plans were withdrawn from the NSW planning portal on Monday, with the developer, Goodman Group, posting on its site that the policy and regulatory environment for large-scale datacentres had “evolved significantly”. The Lane Cove proposal had become one of the main sources of criticism of the datacentre growth in Australia.
The proposal had been criticised by local residents due to its proximity to local schools, event spaces and green space, as well as the growing concerns about clustering with a number of datacentres planned or in operation in Lane Cove. Guardian Australia first reported the community concerns in May. Lane Cove Responsible planning spokesperson Sasha Titchkosky said she was “absolutely ecstatic” at the decision to withdraw the plans.
A spokesperson for Goodman Group declined to comment further, but pointed to the opening statement made by the company’s general manager for development, Ben McGilp, at last week’s hearing of the Senate inquiry into datacentres. McGilp said the company supports “clear, consistent and evidence-based regulation that provides confidence for communities, governments and industry”. The peak body for the sector, Data Centres Australia, warned the committee in its submission to the inquiry that the risk for Australia is not over-building datacentres but “under-building”.
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