My wife and I have lived in the Gladesville / Hunters Hill / North Ryde area adjoining Lane Cove River for over 30 years. During this time, we raised our family here.
One of the main reasons we chose this area was its closeness to many fine parks and natural reserve areas, especially the Lane Cove River. Children’s sport days and recreation for decades now has involved extensive use and enjoyment of these parks and reserves especially Boronia Park, Buffalo Creek Reserve oval & bike track, Magdala Park, North Ryde Park, Blenheim Park and Lane Cove National Park.

The local bushland has been and remains a part of our daily lives and a defining feature of the Gladesville / Hunters Hill / North Ryde area adjoining Lane Cove River.

My wife and I are firmly against the development proposal to build a Data Centre at Julius Avenue North Ryde for the following reasons:
• The proposed data centre would clear around one hectare of native bushland. This may seem like a small area, but for those of us who live here it represents an irreplaceable loss of green space, habitat, and the natural setting that makes this area so special. Families in this community value the connection to nature. Taking away bushland for industrial development undermines the very qualities that make this area a good place to live.
• The proposed data centre proposes to install 72 × 3.2MW back-up generators and 840kL of diesel storage capacity (12 x 70kL tanks) plus an extensive array of lithium-ion batteries for uninterrupted power supply. Given the close proximity of the National Park, Lane Cove River and other buildings and businesses in Julius Avenue including a child care centre, this proposed infrastructure is considered dangerous and unacceptably located as:
o There is a risk of a major fire and related explosion from the lithium-ion batteries and diesel storage tanks spreading to the adjoining buildings, bushland and Lane Cove National Park which in late Spring, Summer and early Autumn may cause a major bushfire requiring evacuation of surrounding business premises and homes resulting in blockage of roads such as Epping Rd, Mowbray Rd, Delhi Rd and Lady Game Drive which would cause extensive traffic gridlock.
o Any major fire at the proposed data centre would leak a toxic mix of chemicals such as diesel oil, nickel, gallium, arsenic and fire retardant into the Lane Cove River and then into Sydney Harbour.
o Any major bushfire in the Lane Cove National Park risks spreading to the proposed data centre creating the explosion and river pollutant problems as outlined above.


For the reasons outlined above I strongly urge that development proposal to build a Data Centre at Julius Avenue North Ryde be rejected and instead recommend it be re-located to a suitable site elsewhere such as the Macquarie Industrial Park at North Ryde provided such site is more than 500 metres from The Lane Cove National Park and any waterway (creek or river).

I do NOT support the proposal for the Julius Avenue Data Centre.
In its present form, the proposal calls for the removal of 509 trees.
These trees are next to the Lane Cove National Park and provide a vital habitat corridor between the National Park and the Great North Walk. The removal of this many trees and understorey will remove important animal habitat.
Of concern is the enormous amount of water required by the data centre to run. Considering the number of apartment blocks being built in the area, there is a concern water supply to residents could be impacted.
My understanding is there is no plan as to how the data centre will source its energy. Will it be taken from the grid or will it be powered by renewable energy?
There is an issue with the use of offsets to justify the removal of trees. Studies have shown that this way of justifying such projects is flawed and open to abuse.

The Lanecove National Park and Surrounding bushland are a rare gem in Urban area of Sydney.
I do not know of any other major cities that have such amazing bushland in middle of the town.
As such it requires unique approach, and certainly a considerate approach to any irrevocable damage to this fragile echosystem and its Basin.

Many years of volunteers time have gone into preserving the bushland and the mature trees that take decades to grow and provide shelter for native wildlife, and it should not be wiped in hundereds by just a decision to build yet another Datacentre in vicinity of such rare gem.
the decision should be reviewed with the two questions
can this datacentre be built somewhere else with no meaningful difference in its purpose?
Can the developement be more relevant to its location and mindful of the 500 trees that is exposed to risk of lopping due to this work.

I have just recently become aware of a massive $1.5+ billion development for a Data Centre in Julius Avenue that will result in the removal of over 500 trees in the TEC Sydney Coastal Enriched Sandstone Forest right on the boundary of Lane Cove NP adjacent to the Great North Walk. I wish to strongly object to this proposal due to the loss of trees and habitat which is unacceptable. With so much fragmentation of our bushland corridors it is imperative to protect the areas we still have. Has serious consideration been given to other possible development areas with less conservation value?

I am a long term member of the Ryde Hunters Hill Flora & Fauna Preservation Society (RHHF&FPS) and I hold a BA (Economics) and a Graduate Diploma (Environmental Studies) from Macquarie University.
The main objective of the RHHF&FPS is the protection of our natural heritage. The Society is a local environment group established 59 years ago and has been active in protecting our natural heritage
I do not support the proposed data centre development in its present form
The planning documents reveal that the development will result in the removal of 509 trees (Page 9 of EIS - Julius Avenue Data Centre 240625). These are part of the important habitat corridor immediately next to Lane Cove National Park and the Great North Walk near Fairyland.
It is the habitat for several threatened species, namely the Large-eared Pied Bat Chalinolobus dwyeri, Little Bent-winged Bat Miniopterus australis and Large Bent-winged Bat Miniopterus orianae oceanensis, and four threatened plant species, being Darwinia biflora, Deyeuxia appressa, Hibbertia spanantha and Rhizanthella slateri.
The documents for the development state that the loss of these will be subject to the biodiversity offsets scheme. The proposed development is another example of incremental deterioration of biodiversity which has been criticised in the report by Professor Graeme Samuel on the review of the Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act and biodiversity offsets have not worked in maintaining biodiversity.
The natural area became valuable after bushfires in the Lane Cove River Valley in January 1994, when a population of swamp wallabies survived by following this corridor and now populate bushland areas along the Lane Cove River at least as far as the Field of Mars Reserve. Removal of the number of trees and their understorey as proposed in the plan will effectively remove important animal habitat.
Another issue is the impact on the local environment. Not adequately considered in the proposal is that the data centre will impact local climate and resources, as cooling water is used and released to the atmosphere, thus creating a localised heat island with raised humidity. It will therefore change the local natural environment and so lose the current nature of the natural area.
The documents supporting the development proposal do not explain in detail how such impacts will be mitigated and provide only general statements to the effect that efforts will be made about the environmental impacts
The Society was successful i its representations made concerning proposals for the re-development of Ivanhoe Estate at Macquarie Park (SSD 8707). That proposal was for the construction of more than 3000 residences and associated community facilities which would have had a serious impact on the Sydney Turpentine and Iron Bark Forest (SFIT) on the site. SFIT is a critically endangered ecological community and biodiversity offsets were proposed for the loss of the SFIT.
Following extensive representations by the Society the plans for the site were changed and the SFIT was saved. This demonstrates that with better planning our natural heritage can be saved and biodiversity maintained.

I urge that the current development application for the data centre at Julius Avenue be rejected on the basis of the detrimental impact on our natural heritage and biodiversity and on the environment more widely
Francis Breen
0478 882716

As someone who has spent a large number of years walking the bush adjacent to the Lane Cove river, and observed the wildlife that manage to survive in that small pocket of undisturbed Sydney, I find it hard to wonder what the impact will be on species in that already narrow corridor along the river.

A secondary concern is the amount of benefit to the local area. As part of my work, I frequently attend datacentres, and are familiar with their purpose and workings. The reality is they employ few people, and consume vast amounts of utility resources. They are essentially enormous fortified cement cubes.

Pristine Sydney bushland is just not the right place for such a facility.

Don't do it

The EIS Biodiversity Development Assessment Report is significantly flawed as there is no assessment on amphibians that could be found in the site even though it acknowledges there is a artificial dam on site. We have learnt that species such as green and golden bell frogs thrive in artificial dams. The area beyond the dam i.e watercourses would be very suitable for species such red crown toadlets. As the site is connected to national park land there is a high likelihood that significant species could occupy or use the site. Therefore a much more thorough investigation through extensive flora and fauna sampling must be conducted before mitigation can be developed or design of the development is finalised. This land needs to be thoroughly treated for the potential rich biodiversity values it is likely to hold.

I am writing to express my strong objection to the proposed Julius Avenue Data Centre at 6–8 Julius Avenue, North Ryde. I work as a data and insights professional and appreciate the critical role data centres play. However, this project’s environmental impacts - particularly on Lane Cove National Park and the habitat corridor adjoining the site - are unacceptable and contrary to the public interest. Specifically,

- The development is directly beside Lane Cove National Park (LCNP), a key bushland corridor in metropolitan Sydney. The proposal would remove around 509 mature trees (as stated on page 9 of EIS - Julius Avenue Data Centre 240625), severing an important habitat link vital for the movement of native wildlife and which buffers the park from urban heat, light, and noise impacts.

- The Biodiversity Development Assessment Report (BDAR) identifies impacts on habitat for at least three threatened animal species and four threatened plant species. Loss of tree hollows, increased light and noise, and greater weed and pathogen spread will all harm sensitive species. I am an avid bushcarer at Fairylands and a regular visitor to Lane Cove National Park. Years of bushcare and regeneration efforts have produced measurable gains such as weed suppression and improved habitat connectivity. Clearing hundreds of trees at this edge will likely set back those gains and degrade both habitat and the community’s experience of the park.

- People’s experience visiting LCNP, including those of bushwalkers on the popular Great North Walk, will be diminished. Loss of tree buffers will increase visible and audible intrusion from the urban edge, raise local temperatures on walking tracks, and reduce the park’s sense of natural seclusion.

As a regular visitor to the area, avid bushwalker, and participant in LCNP bushcare, I feel very strongly about preserving this important part of mature bushland, which most visitors wouldn’t even consider not being part of the park.

Industrial-scale data centres bring constant mechanical plant, heat rejection, diesel backup generators, and lighting, all operating 24/7. These are not compatible with a site directly adjoining a national park. Biodiversity offsets cannot replicate the function and cooling benefits of a mature, connected corridor. Avoidance of corridor clearing should be the priority.

Based on the above, I request that the Department refuse consent to SSD-80018208.

Kind regards