I strongly object to the proposed development for several significant reasons, which are outlined in the accompanying document. Given its close proximity to residential properties, a school, and community facilities, I respectfully request that approval not be considered until the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the rapid expansion of data centres has concluded.

To Whom It May Concern,

I would like to express my objection to the proposed Project Mars Data Centre.

This proposed data centre will be built on a block of land which is in close proximity (less than 20m) from homes and parkland. Less than 20m away from the proposed data centre is Blackman Park, which is a park used every day of the week by:
1. Schools, both local and from further suburbs such as North Sydney, to hold sporting events for students;
2. Local sporting clubs such as Lane Cove Cricket Club, Soccer clubs and others;
3. Residents, including many families and children who use the park for sports, walking dogs, bushwalking, kayaking and running.
There is also a tennis club with tennis courts which is used daily, as well as the home of the Lane Cove Scouts based at Blackman Park.
The construction of the data centre will cause noise for the entire duration of the three years of its construction, which will be clearly audible only metres away at the Park and residential streets of Lane Cove. Such noise pollution will obviously adversely impact the ability for schools, clubs and local residents to use and enjoy the park. Construction of this scale also produces material pollution, airborne and as run-off, and it is noticeable that right next to the proposed data centre is the Lane Cove River and Lane Cove National Park, home to wildlife and used for recreation by bushwalkers and kayakers.
There are also long term impacts which extend beyond construction. Data centres still produce 24/7 noise, even at night, and will be clearly noticeable from the parks and residential streets only several metres away. Children especially are more sensitive to noise than adults, and having this level of artificial disturbance 24/7 year-round in a residential neighbourhood next door to a public school and parkland is unacceptable.
The ecological damage from the three-year construction period may not be recoverable. There are numerous species in the Lane Cove area which are already vulnerable or endangered, including the grey-headed flying fox and Deane's tea tree (both listed as Vulnerable), the eastern underground orchid (Endangered), Julian's hibbertia and the brush turpentine (both Critically Endangered). Many of these threatened species already have limited population sizes and distributions.
The combination of adverse impacts on local residents, schools, sporting clubs and wildlife both during the three-year construction period and thereafter are unacceptable. This proposed data centre is too close to homes and parkland and construction should be avoided.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous, Lane Cove West, NSW, Australia

I am a long-term resident of Wood Street, Lane Cove West and object to the proposed Project Mars Data Centre at 12 Mars Road.
This proposal involves a 90MW, 24-hour hyperscale data centre located at a highly sensitive interface with residential properties, community infrastructure and ecological land.
My objection is based on the following key concerns:
1. Inappropriate site and land-use conflict
The proposal represents a failure of land-use planning at the interface of industrial and residential land. The scale and intensity of the development is not compatible with its immediate surroundings.
2. Noise impacts and topographic amplification
The site sits within a natural amphitheatre between Mars Road, Lloyd Rees Drive and Wood Street. This creates a real risk that continuous mechanical and low-frequency noise will propagate into surrounding residential areas beyond predicted levels.
3. Uncertainty in key design elements
Critical aspects of plant, infrastructure and mitigation measures are not finalised and are deferred to later design stages. This creates unacceptable uncertainty at the time of approval.
4. Cumulative impacts
The concentration of data centres in the broader precinct raises concerns regarding cumulative noise, emissions, infrastructure demand and environmental pressure, which have not been adequately assessed.
5. Construction impacts
A construction period of up to three years represents a prolonged and significant disruption, effectively industrialising the residential interface over a sustained period.
6. Biodiversity and habitat impacts
The area functions as an active habitat corridor, including use by nocturnal species such as owls and Tawny Frogmouth. Continuous night-time operation, lighting and tree loss pose risks to this environment.
7. Impact on the Lane Cove Community Nursery
The nursery is a community-driven environmental asset supporting local biodiversity. Its proximity to the proposed development creates risks relating to noise, dust, light spill and long-term viability.
8. Landscape and environmental performance
The proposed landscape design does not demonstrate functional performance in terms of screening, sediment control, slope stabilisation or interface buffering.
9. Sediment and runoff risk
The site slopes toward bushland and habitat areas. The reliance on deferred sediment control measures creates uncertainty and risk of environmental harm.
10. Overall planning concern
The cumulative effect of these issues results in an outcome that is not appropriate for this location and cannot be adequately mitigated through conditions alone.

Request
I respectfully request that the proposal be refused.
If not refused, the project should be subject to significantly more rigorous assessment and enforceable conditions addressing noise, environmental impact, construction management, ecological protection and community interface.

This project will remove over 100 jobs from the region, it only will bring a maximum of 20 jobs to the new site. More than 20. Companies will have to move the area, which will cause them to loose so much money, my company is one of them. 5 years ago we requested Goodman to trim some trees down due to hazard when strong winds, they said they could not because the trees are protected as being the habitat of Bush turkey, now they want to chop as many as 90 trees.
Blackman park is one of the best parks in the region, the huge building will be an eye sore, all the current warehouses have branded in with the vegetation and are all low level buildings.

I am writing to strongly object to the proposed Project Mars Data Centre at 12 Mars Road, Lane Cove West.

My family and I live locally in Wood Street and we chose this area as a place to raise our young family because of its quiet, residential character, access to green space, and proximity to Lane Cove West Public School. This proposal puts all of that at risk.

This development is far too close to established homes and Lane Cove West Public School. The information states it is 50m from residential areas, but having measured, is is in fact much closer, in some places only 8m from residential back yard fences. Distance assessments should be to property boundaries, not just the house. We have the right to enjoy our back gardens. Yes that is an industrial zone, but it fails to address the fact that it interfaces with homes and Blackman Park.

As a parent, I am deeply concerned about placing a large-scale industrial facility so close to where children live and learn every day. A data centre of this size and intensity does not belong in a family-oriented suburb.

Our homes are not designed to buffer industrial impacts. Children should not have to learn or play in an environment affected by constant background noise, construction disruption, and industrial activity. My children also play soccer at Blackman Park and do Acro Gymnastics (at North Shore Acro based in the scout hall). So not only would there home life and school life be disrupted by these developments, there sporting activities would also be impacted by the dust and noise of the development.

The proposal involves the removal of approximately 90 mature trees.

This is devastating. These are not just trees — they are part of the character of our neighbourhood. They provide shade, reduce heat, support wildlife, and create the green environment that families like ours rely on for wellbeing.

Losing this many mature trees will permanently change the feel of the area and make it hotter, harsher, and less liveable for residents and children.

The construction period is expected to last years, involving demolition, excavation, and heavy construction activity.

For families like ours, this means:

Constant noise during the day. My husband works from home full time (Wood Street)
Dust and reduced air quality
Safety concerns with increased heavy vehicle movements
Disruption to children’s routines, sleep, and schooling

It is simply unreasonable to subject nearby residents and school children to years of intensive construction at this scale. The low frequency noise impacts are not robustly addressed and claims of no sleep disturbance are not supported by data. Noise modelling relies on selective receiver locations not clearly the closest homes. The noise impacts are no conclusively demonstrated as acceptable.


Once built, the data centre will operate 24 hours a day, every day.

This means:

Continuous humming noise from cooling systems
Sudden loud testing of diesel generators
Ongoing industrial activity in what is currently a quiet area

This kind of constant background noise will affect sleep, stress levels, and overall wellbeing — especially for families with young children.

There are also concerns about air quality and pollution associated with backup generators and energy use. The is potential cumulative impacts with other data centres in the areas and combined worse case scenarios are not fully assessed.

We are deeply worried about what this will mean for our children’s health and quality of life over the long term. I have concerns over the air quality modelling, as it is not clearly demonstrated that the closest homes and school were assessed as worst case receptors.

Our area is already facing increasing pressure from multiple large-scale developments. The ongoing Sydney Water works for the other data centre has been hugely disruptive. It has gone on for well over 6 month with no sign of an end in sight. The traffic control has been woeful, with incompetent workers allowing traffic through when it should be stopped. I hate to think what work would be involved in increasing water and electricity to the proposed data centre and the years of upheaval this would cause in the local area.

At some point, there needs to be a limit. The concentration of data centres in this area is changing the character of Lane Cove West into an industrial precinct, which is not what it was intended to be. The visual and design impacts do not adequately represent views from adjacent residential properties and understated the real impact of scale, height and proximity. The proposal relies heavily on approval without critical information being finalised.

Families should not bear the burden of this type of overdevelopment and for no long term benefit to the area, relative to the scale of impact.

This proposal is not just a planning issue — it is a community and family issue.

We chose to live here to raise our children in a safe and green environment. This development threatens that in a very real and lasting way.

To sum up, this development is
1. too large and too close to homes
2. has confirmed air quality excedences and unresolved noise impacts
3. does not asses worst case or cumulative scenarios properly
4 relies on unresolved infrastructure
5. results in environmental and community impacts

For these reasons, I strongly object to the Project Mars Data Centre and urge that it be refused.

Regards
Charlotte Moore

Re: Proposed Goodman Data Centre Development – Mars Road, Lane Cove West

To Whom It May Concern,

I am a 42-year-old mother and local resident of the Lane Cove area, and I am writing to formally express my concerns regarding the proposed Goodman data centre development at Mars Road, Lane Cove West.

As a parent raising children in this community, my primary concern is the long-term wellbeing, health, and safety of local families. While I recognise the importance of digital infrastructure and economic development, I believe this proposal raises several significant issues that warrant careful consideration before any approval is granted.


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⚡ Electricity Demand, Brownouts, and Power Outages

Recent community experiences provide practical evidence of the pressures on local infrastructure. The proposed data centre’s substantial electricity requirements are deeply concerning. Our community has already experienced several electrical power outages, demonstrating that the local electricity network is under strain. By way of recent example, during a period in 2025, residents experienced multiple disruptions, including a planned outage on 2 September 2025, a major outage on 26 September 2025, an overnight outage on 3 December 2025, and an evening outage on 7 December 2025.

In addition, several traffic light failures occurred at key intersections during the same period, including Mowbray Road and Centennial Avenue (26 September 2025), Osborne Road and Pacific Highway (26 September 2025), and Epping Road and Longueville Road (25 November 2025), with repeated faults on 27 November 2025 and five confirmed failures on 28 November 2025. These incidents are not intended to represent a complete or exhaustive list, but rather serve as recent illustrative examples of the frequency and nature of infrastructure disruptions experienced by the community.

This pattern raises serious concerns that the significant and continuous electricity demand of the proposed data centre could further increase the likelihood of both brownouts (voltage reductions) and additional power outages, affecting homes, schools, essential services, and residents who rely on life-critical medical equipment.


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💧 Water Supply and Sustainability

Data centres typically require significant volumes of water for cooling, raising serious concerns about the capacity and reliability of existing infrastructure. Our community has recently experienced a major multi-day water outage associated with failures at the West Ryde pumping station, which relies on ageing infrastructure. This incident highlighted the vulnerability of the existing water supply network and demonstrated that parts of the system have required patching rather than comprehensive upgrades.

Media coverage at the time, including reporting by The Sydney Morning Herald in March 2026, documented the widespread disruption and the urgent need for water conservation measures. This event underscores the importance of ensuring that any additional demand from the proposed development does not place further strain on already ageing water infrastructure. I respectfully request that the proponent demonstrate that sufficient capacity exists and that sustainable water management practices—such as the use of recycled or non-potable water—be mandated.


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🔊 Noise Pollution and Community Amenity

The continuous operation of cooling systems, transformers, and the periodic testing of diesel generators raises serious concerns about noise pollution. Persistent low-frequency noise can significantly affect sleep quality, mental health, and overall wellbeing. With residential areas located close to the proposed site, I am worried about the long-term impact on families, including my own children.

Blackman Park is an essential recreational space for the Lane Cove community and is frequently used by families for sport and extracurricular activities. As a 42-year-old mother and local resident, my children regularly participate in activities such as soccer, touch rugby, and Scouts at this location. The proximity of the proposed data centre raises concerns about potential noise, air quality, and overall environmental impacts on an area heavily used by children and families. Any increase in industrial activity, persistent low-frequency noise, or emissions from diesel backup generators could adversely affect the health, safety, and enjoyment of those who rely on this important community asset. Protecting the amenity and wellbeing of community spaces such as Blackman Park should be a key consideration in the assessment of this development.

I strongly urge the implementation of stringent and enforceable noise limits, along with ongoing monitoring and effective mitigation measures such as acoustic barriers.


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🌫️ Air Quality and Health Impacts

The reliance on diesel backup generators introduces the risk of air pollution, including particulate matter and other harmful emissions. As a parent, I am particularly concerned about the potential health impacts on children and other vulnerable members of the community. I encourage the consideration of cleaner alternatives, such as battery energy storage systems and renewable energy solutions, to minimise these risks.


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📊 Cumulative Impact of Multiple Data Centres

Another key concern is the cumulative impact of multiple data centre developments within the Lane Cove West area. The combined effects on electricity demand, water consumption, traffic, noise, and environmental quality may be substantial. I believe a comprehensive cumulative impact assessment is essential to fully understand the broader implications for our community and to ensure that local infrastructure can sustainably support these developments.


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🚧 Traffic and Safety

The construction and operation of the facility are likely to increase heavy vehicle movements, leading to congestion and potential safety risks for pedestrians and cyclists. As a mother, road safety is of paramount importance. I request that detailed traffic management and safety plans be developed and implemented to protect residents, particularly children travelling to and from school and community facilities.


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🌿 Community Consultation and Transparency

Finally, I believe that meaningful and ongoing community consultation is essential. Residents should be kept fully informed and given genuine opportunities to provide input throughout the planning and assessment process. Transparency will help build trust and ensure that community concerns are appropriately addressed.


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✅ Conclusion

In conclusion, while I recognise the economic and technological benefits that data centres can bring, I respectfully request that decision-makers carefully consider the potential impacts on electricity reliability, water supply, noise, air quality, traffic, and the cumulative effects of similar developments in the area. I urge the NSW Government to ensure that any approval of this project is contingent upon robust safeguards, comprehensive impact assessments, and enforceable mitigation measures that prioritise the health, safety, and quality of life of local residents.

Thank you for considering my submission.

I am very concerned about :
- loss of wildlife due to excessive vibration and habitat removal, including 90 trees
- Loss of green space
- Risk associated with removal of asbestos
- Ongoing noise and dust from extensive and prolonged demolition and excavation
- Excessive daily water usage
- Exessive fuel usage
- Reduced enjoyment of blackmore park
- Increase in traffic, less parking, noise pollution
- Air pollution and emission from +- 50 diesel generators
- Setting a precended for more datacentres built close to homes, parks and recreational spaces in Sydney and the North Shore