Goodman Group has withdrawn its application for a 90‑megawatt data centre, Project Mars, in the Lane Cove suburb of Sydney following a record 374 submissions of community opposition. The proposed facility would have been built only 20 metres from private homes and would have cost an estimated A$1.2 billion.
The decision came after residents, local activists and a civic group dubbed "No Goodman Data Centre" rallied against the project, wielding signs outside houses and flooding the consultation with comments. Only nine of the 374 submissions supported the development, a developing record for a data‑centre proposal in Australia.
Goodman Group explained that its extensive technical investigations, stakeholder engagement and community consultation revealed that "the policy and regulatory environment for large‑scale data centre development has evolved significantly," and that community views tipped the balance against proceeding. The group noted that it had "carefully considered" these changes before shelving the plan.
The NSW government announced a fast‑track assessment programme last month that could allow data‑centres to be approved within 75 days if they meet certain environmental and supply standards, including provisions for extra water and energy. In a Facebook post, Lane Cove MP Anthony Roberts called the withdrawal a "huge win for the Lane Cove West community" and stressed that developments of this scale must be planned with the surrounding residents in mind.
The incident reflects a wider national debate over the rapid growth of AI infrastructure. As demand for data storage soars, Australia’s abundant clean energy and land have attracted global investors, but the sector’s high resource consumption—particularly of water and electricity—continues to raise local concerns. The scrapping of Project Mars suggests that even government‑backed projects can be halted when community impact outweighs commercial incentives.
