Goodman withdraws $1.2bn Project Mars data centre proposal in Sydney

Goodman Group has withdrawn its proposed $1.2bn Project Mars data centre in Lane Cove, northern Sydney, following local opposition and changes in government policy. The NSW planning portal lists the application as withdrawn. Goodman says it considered both emerging state and federal policy and feedback received during planning, including residents’ views; the record does not establish how much weight the company gave each factor.

The decision ends the current application for a facility planned to operate around the clock with approximately 90 megawatts of power consumption, according to the NSW planning portal. It does not settle the broader debate over where large data centres should be built or how their energy, water and local impacts should be managed.

What Goodman and the planning record say

Goodman told the NSW Department of Planning it would no longer proceed with Project Mars, ABC News reported on 28 September. In a statement reported by ABC, the developer said the policy and regulatory environment for large data centres had ‘evolved significantly’. It said it had considered those changes alongside feedback through the planning process, including the views of the local community.

The Guardian reported a further statement from Goodman that, having considered emerging federal and state policy, it would not progress the development application. The planning portal confirms the application’s withdrawn status but gives no reason for it. Goodman’s statements explain the decision in the company’s terms; neither the portal nor the reporting establishes whether regulatory change or community feedback was decisive.

Local opposition and the wider debate

The withdrawal followed a federal Senate inquiry hearing at which community groups and Goodman’s development general manager, Ben McGilp, appeared, according to ABC. Senator Sarah Henderson criticised the proposal and urged Goodman to withdraw it. The Guardian reported that McGilp told the inquiry the company supported ‘clear, consistent and evidence-based regulation’ that gives communities, governments and industry confidence.

Lane Cove Responsible Planning spokesperson Sasha Titchkosky told The Guardian she was ‘absolutely ecstatic’ about the withdrawal. She argued that stronger regulation earlier could have spared residents stress over the proposal and thanked Goodman for listening to community concerns. Her account reflects the group’s assessment; the available record does not establish that opposition alone caused Goodman to abandon the application.

Sweltering Cities senior campaigner Sanaa Shah likewise welcomed the decision, telling ABC it showed the scale of community resistance forming around data centres. The industry has voiced a different concern: The Guardian reported that Data Centres Australia warned a Senate inquiry that building too few facilities could redirect investment to places with weaker protections, costing Australia economic value and domestic capability.

Rules still taking shape

The policy backdrop is changing at both levels of government. The Guardian reported that NSW announced a faster assessment framework in August for data-centre applications meeting stated principles, including standards for noise and air pollution, no net cost to consumers and communities, and funding for additional water and energy supply. Those principles provide context for Goodman’s reference to emerging state policy; the reporting does not identify a particular rule that made Project Mars unviable.

Federal measures are also proposed rather than final. In a July announcement, the Australian government said planned standards for large data centres would require developers to underwrite new power supply, pay their share of connection costs, reduce power use when needed to support the grid and use water efficiently. The government said legislation was expected early in 2027. Its eventual terms, and any effect they might have had on this application, remain unknown.

For Lane Cove residents, the immediate outcome is clear: Project Mars is marked withdrawn on the NSW planning portal. The portal does not say whether Goodman might submit another proposal, and withdrawal of this application does not determine the fate of other data-centre plans in the area. The confirmed change is to this project’s status; broader planning and infrastructure questions remain before governments and the community.