Some Sydney Catholics have joined a campaign against plans for a major data centre in Lane Cove West, arguing that new digital infrastructure should not come at the expense of the local community.
The New South Wales Government is considering a proposed ‘Project Mars’ data centre at 12 Mars Road in the lower north shore suburb.
The development application by industrial property provider Goodman Group proposes a 90-megawatt data centre to meet growing demand as cloud computing and artificial intelligence expand.
Data centres are essential infrastructure today and can contribute to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the communities, reads a statement on the Goodman website.
But residents are concerned about the impact on nearby homes, Lane Cove West Public School, Blackman Park and other community facilities. Lane Cove Council has also raised concerns about the concentration of data centres planned for the suburb.
Elizabeth Darton, a member of the Lane Cove Responsible Planning Group, expressed dismay over the proposal to remove 90 mature trees as part of the plans.
“Current businesspeople aren’t even allowed to cut down one tree,” she told The Catholic Weekly.
The maximum building height for the area is 18 metres according to Darton, whereas the Goodman group’s proposed building is 33 metres high.
Among the issues locals have with the development plans, Darton says the “biggest angst” is that swathes of Lane Cove’s bushland areas and the Lane Cove River will be negatively affected.
“It is just a sacred space where you can stop thinking about phones, AI, the world,” she said.
“To see this big, dominant data centre just overshadowing it, I personally think would be horrific.”
Another local, Paul McGregor, has measured current noise levels in the neighbourhood and believes Goodman’s predicted decibel count will be an exponential increase. Goodman said it engaged with involved stakeholders and is taking locals’ concerns about the project seriously.
“We remain committed to listening to feedback, engaging respectfully and providing information as the assessment progresses,” a spokesperson said in an email to The Catholic Weekly.
The dispute comes as the church increasingly grapples with the human consequences of technologies such as artificial intelligence.
In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published in May, Pope Leo argued that technology and artificial intelligence should be ordered towards the good of the human person.
The Lane Cove planning dispute raises a similar question at a local level, about how communities can accommodate the infrastructure required by an increasingly digital society.
