Sydney AI data centre project scrapped after protests — ABC News Australia

In Australia, developers Stockland and John Boyd Properties have withdrawn a plan to build an artificial intelligence data centre in the Arncliffe area in southern Sydney. The facility was to form part of a logistics hub worth about A$3.5 billion, planned on the 18.3-hectare site of the former Kogarah Golf Club. This was reported by ABC News.

Residents' protests

The community group Stop the Cooks River AI Project, which includes hundreds of people, opposed the project. Its organiser, Paddy Gibson, called the decision a victory for public pressure. Activists feared that the data centre could harm the vulnerable ecosystem near the Cooks River, known in local Indigenous languages as Goolay'yari.

According to Gibson, the green area contains plants and animal species threatened with extinction. Campaign participants also raised concerns about electricity consumption, possible water pollution and the facility's impact on the restoration of the river, which has already suffered industrial pollution.

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Updated hub plan

A Stockland representative said the partners would focus on developing a logistics complex without the data centre in line with the updated conceptual master plan. According to the representative, the site's proximity to Sydney Airport, Port Botany and key transport infrastructure makes it suitable for logistics.

The project also provides for a one-kilometre public route along the Cooks River, the future creation of the 14-hectare Pemulwuy Park, upgrades to local roads and improved active transport connections. Stop the Cooks River AI Project said it would continue its campaign against the riverside logistics hub and for a ban on new AI data centres.

This is not the first data centre project in Sydney to be cancelled after community opposition: plans by AirTrunk in Lane Cove and another facility in Guildford were previously abandoned.