Community opposition to data centres is exploding. Where has it come from?

In the last year, Lane Cove locals have grown increasingly opposed to the region’s designation as a hub for Australia’s growing data centre industry. 

Doctor Bronwyn Cumbo, a University of Technology Sydney (UTS) researcher with a focus on the data centre industry, says that as long as communities like this feel ignored, the pushback may just go on. 

What happened: After closing last week, the public exhibition of a Lane Cove data centre on Mars Road attracted 359 letters of opposition. These don’t just come from individual residents, but also sports clubs, schools and scout halls. 

That’s a massive turnout: For comparison, a neighbouring Airtunk data centre, built in 2021, received a total of seven objections when it went through the same process.

Real impacts, understood: Doctor Cumbo told the Lorikeet much of this recent opposition has come simply from increased awareness of what data centres are — and what they do. 

“While [data centres] provide all these advantages for the digital economy … they do have very material, experiential impacts on the people living alongside them”, she said.

Increased scrutiny: The words “data centre” might have been met with a yawn only a year ago, but widespread media coverage and political scrutiny — as seen in the current NSW inquiry into data centres — have drawn attention to the significant local and national impacts they can have. 

As development of data centres has grown in areas like Lane Cove and Macquarie Park, many locals feel as if these projects are being thrust upon them without genuine collaboration or consultation. 

“People have been really frustrated with the process”, Lane Cove Councillor Rochelle Flood told the Lorikeet.

“I've spoken to residents that only found out about [the project] when the SSD was up for consultation … some people only found out when a neighbour door knocked them”.

Connection important: While companies are obliged to go through state community consultation processes, Cumbo says these conversations need to be a “two-way street” to have an impact. 

• “In terms of the industry, they've been talking a lot about data centres to each other. I'm not sure how connected they are to the community”. 

State focus: The NSW Government has been eager to usher in data centre investment, recently announcing the arrival of 15 new projects across the state, three of which will be housed in Lane Cove and Ryde.

While recently released federal guidelines state this investment must come “on terms that benefit the community”, Cumbo questions whether this is occurring in practice. 

"It's government's role to make sure that we live in a democratic, equitable society”, she said. 

“How is the data centre industry aligning with and supporting those core values, rather than how are we trying to shape ourselves so we can bring this industry in?"