Cautious celebration from local bushcarers, as North Ryde data centre is scaled back

The company behind a controversial North Ryde data centre has presented an amended design of the development to local conservationists, who have called the new proposal “a significant step in the right direction”.

What happened: In April 2025, Australian property investment company ISPT announced its intention to build a data centre on land in North Ryde, bordering the Lane Cove National Park. 

• The development was registered as a State Significant Development, meaning its approval was the responsibility of the state government, not local council.

Local backlash: The proposal saw pushback from local community members and conservation groups. In particular, a local conservation group, the Friends of Lane Cove National Park, that took issue with the development’s proposal to clear old growth bushland.

• Friends of Lane Cove National Park claimed the bushland acted as an essential buffer zone for native wildlife between urban development and the national park.

• The planning proposal received more than a hundred submissions against the development, citing concerns about local wildlife, environmental impacts, the use of water and noise.

A new hope: The Friends of Lane Cove National Park have now been presented with an amended design of the centre, which includes a 34% reduction in the development's overall size as well as the retention of 3,246m² of bushland and 179 trees.

• The new plans have also attempted to address concerns about water usage, proposing a switch from water cooling to air cooling for the data centre. This will reduce the centre's water usage by 2,220 million litres annually.

Not finished yet: Still, the bushcare group has been hesitant to celebrate. President Tony Butteriss told the Lorikeet that while this result showed a “significant win for the community”, the group has only seen a “preliminary draft of the changes” and much of the bushland still stands to be cleared.