SYDNEY — Goodman Group, Australia’s biggest property company, withdrew its application for a controversial A$1.2 billion ($841 million), 90-megawatt data centre known as Project Mars in Sydney’s Lane Cove suburb after intense community push-back, BBC News reported Monday.
The facility would have stood about 20 metres from the nearest homes. A planning consultation drew 374 submissions, only nine in support—reportedly the most ever for a data-centre application locally. In a letter to the New South Wales Department of Planning, Goodman cited an evolving “policy and regulatory environment” and community views in deciding not to proceed. NSW MP Anthony Roberts called it “a huge win for the Lane Cove West community” and a message that large centres must be “appropriately located.”
The scrap comes amid a national debate over AI-driven data-centre demand versus water, energy and neighbourhood impacts. NSW last month announced a fast-track assessment programme for centres that meet standards and fund extra water and energy supply—underscoring both government appetite for investment and local resistance when projects sit metres from homes.
Sources: BBC News
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