Community opposition has forced the abandonment of plans for an artificial intelligence data centre on the banks of Sydney’s most polluted waterway.
Developer Stockland confirmed on Saturday that it had scrapped proposals for an AI data centre at the former Kogarah Golf Course site.
The course is located beside the Cooks River, which underwent Australia’s first microplastic assessment in March. The study found it was the most contaminated coastal waterway in New South Wales.
As residents worked to remove rubbish from the river, Stockland proposed creating one of Sydney’s largest logistics and technology precincts on the site.
The project was to include warehouses, commercial premises, restaurants and a four-storey data centre covering 25,400 square metres.
Members of Stop the Cooks River AI Project (SCRAP) repeatedly staged community protests, urging Stockland to abandon the proposal.
They argued that the facility could further damage the river, put additional pressure on the surrounding environment and increase demand on drinking water supplies.
Data centres have faced growing criticism over their high water consumption. Large quantities of water are often needed to cool the systems used to process the vast volumes of data required to run AI services.
Stockland proposed building one of Sydney’s largest logistics and technology precincts (above) beside the Cooks River
Stockland has identified seven other locations for the large-scale facilities.
They include an expansion of its existing data centre at Macquarie Park in northern Sydney, as well as a separate development in the area. Two further sites are planned in western Sydney, at Wetherill Park and Kemps Creek.
The developer also owns three potential sites in Melbourne’s west: Cherry Lane, Brooklyn and Melbourne Business Park.
Paddy Gibson, a local resident and SCRAP organiser, said on Saturday that the campaign had achieved its goal.
‘This is an important victory for people power,’ Mr Gibson said.
‘Stockland’s backdown is another warning to political leaders at both the federal and state levels who are rolling out the red carpet for US tech companies.
‘Local communities will not accept their obscene plans to turn Australia into a second home for AI data centres that consume enormous amounts of power and water.’
The announcement followed Goodman Group’s decision in September to abandon its $1.2 billion Project Mars data centre in Lane Cove West, in Sydney’s north.
Plans for the data centre (above) were abandoned last week after sustained opposition from the local community
Goodman pointed to changes in the regulatory environment since planning began, as well as strong local opposition to the facility.
Australia has sought to attract lucrative investment in AI infrastructure. According to the Data Centre Atlas, 117 data centres are already operating in Sydney alone.
A Climate Council report said Australia had approximately 165 data centres by August 2026, with at least 225 additional facilities proposed. That figure is more than double the number recorded the previous year.
Data Centres Australia has reported that the electricity and clean water consumed by data centres nationwide is expected to more than triple by 2030.
Goodman estimated that Project Mars would have required a continuous supply of drinking water for cooling, with daily consumption expected to reach 1.4 million litres.
The amount of water Stockland’s proposed data centre would have used has not been disclosed.
Sydney Water had previously warned that its existing infrastructure would have limited capacity to support Project Mars.
A Stockland spokesperson said the Kogarah site would instead become a logistics hub without a data centre.
Residents feared the proposed facility would add to pollution in the Cooks River (above), already among the most contaminated waterways in the state
‘Stockland and John Boyd Properties are focused on developing a world-class logistics precinct that does not include a data centre under the amended Concept Masterplan,’ the spokesperson said.
‘The site is on the doorstep of Sydney Airport and close to Port Botany and major transport infrastructure, making it particularly well suited to a logistics hub. It also has potential for mixed uses, including retail and hospitality.
‘The project will deliver a one-kilometre public foreshore link along the Cooks River and the future 14-hectare Pemulwuy Park, alongside local road upgrades and better active-transport connections.’
Mr Gibson said SCRAP would continue campaigning against other proposed data centres across Sydney.
‘We are also part of a new coalition of local groups campaigning against all AI data centres. It will come together on December 5 for a major rally in Parramatta, calling for an immediate moratorium on all new AI data centres,’ he said.
‘We are only just getting started. The Albanese and Minns governments must act immediately to impose a moratorium or face the same collapse in political support seen in the US midterm elections, where candidates supporting data centres were heavily punished.’
READ MORE: AI data centres could trigger blackouts and drive up household bills
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