Goodman has withdrawn its application for Project Mars, the 90 megawatt data centre it proposed for 12 Mars Road in the Lane Cove West Business Park.
In a letter to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure dated today, Monday 28 September 2026, Goodman said it would not progress with the development application and asked that assessment of the proposal cease.
The decision ends an 18 month planning process that drew a record number of public objections, a packed community meeting at the Blackman Park Scout Hall and pointed questions from federal senators in Lane Cove less than a week ago.
At a Glance
- Goodman has withdrawn its State Significant Development application for Project Mars, a proposed 90 megawatt, 24-hour data centre at 12 Mars Road, Lane Cove West.
- In its letter to NSW Planning, Goodman cited a significantly changed policy and regulatory environment, emerging federal and state policy and feedback from the local community.
- The withdrawal comes six days after Goodman told a Senate inquiry hearing in Lane Cove it had not secured a social licence for the project.
- Project Mars attracted 374 public submissions, a record for a NSW data centre application. Only nine supported it.
- Goodman says it will not be doing interviews about the decision.
- Other data centre proposals in the Lane Cove West Business Park, including AirTrunk’s proposed 140 megawatt facility, are not affected.
What Goodman said
The letter, signed by Goodman Head of Planning Guy Smith, is addressed to Joanna Bakopanos, Acting Director of Industry Assessments at the Department.
Goodman said that since it began the planning process in March 2025, the policy and regulatory environment for large-scale data centre development had “evolved significantly”.
The company said it had considered those changes “together with feedback received through the planning process, including the views of the local community.”
“Having considered emerging federal and state policy, Goodman has concluded that it will not progress with the development application,” the letter states.
Goodman has asked the Department for written confirmation that the application has been withdrawn.
Goodman’s General Manager of Marketing and Communications, Kerrie Muskens, provided the letter to In the Cove this afternoon. She said the company was not planning to undertake interviews on the decision.
The letter does not say which specific federal or state policies influenced the decision, or what Goodman now intends for the Mars Road site.
Six days after the Senate hearing
The withdrawal follows the first public hearing of the Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence and data centres, held at Waterview Community Centre in Lane Cove on Tuesday 22 September 2026.
At that hearing, Goodman’s General Manager of Development, Ben McGilp, told senators the company expected to decide by the end of the year whether to go ahead with Project Mars. He acknowledged Goodman had not secured a social licence for the project and said the company still had work to do to win community support.
Senator Sarah Henderson pressed Goodman over how close the proposal sat to neighbouring homes and urged the company to withdraw the application. Mr McGilp declined to commit at the time.
Six days later, Goodman has done exactly that.
A record number of objections
Project Mars was always going to be contested. When the application went on public exhibition, it attracted 374 submissions, the highest number recorded for a NSW State Significant Development data centre application. Only nine supported the proposal.
Sydney Water asked NSW Planning to defer its assessment until a separate servicing study was completed. Lane Cove Council objected, raising concerns about height, visual impact and the cumulative impact of data centres in the Lane Cove West industrial area.
Residents, sporting clubs, environment groups, the 1st Lane Cove Scout Group and the Lane Cove West Public School P&C also lodged objections, raising concerns about noise, water use, diesel generators, bushland, the Lane Cove River and the site’s proximity to homes, schools and children’s sport at Blackman Park.
Standing room only at Blackman Park
On Friday 11 September 2026, the Scout Hall at Blackman Park was standing room only as Lane Cove West residents gathered to discuss Project Mars and the growing cluster of data centres in the business park.
The meeting was organised by the Lane Cove Responsible Planning Group. Goodman was invited to attend but did not.
Member for Lane Cove Anthony Roberts told the meeting data centre growth had “gone out of control” and offered to chair a town hall style meeting between residents and the company.
In the days that followed, Lane Cove Responsible Planning lodged a shareholder resolution with the Goodman Group board calling for greater transparency about how the company assesses the planning, community and social licence risks of its data centre business. The group said it was believed to be an Australian first for a community group on data centre social licence.
A shifting policy landscape
Goodman’s letter points to changes in policy at both state and federal level. Several have landed in quick succession.
In August, the NSW Government announced a new framework promising to assess data centre applications within 75 days where proponents comply with guidelines on energy, water, environmental standards, community consultation and infrastructure contributions.
The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee has been running its inquiry into artificial intelligence and data centres since May 2026, with location and cumulative impact in urban areas a central theme.
On 17 September 2026, the federal Office of AI released a consultation paper, Getting it right: Building AI infrastructure that works for Australia. It is open for feedback until 9 October 2026.
The NSW Legislative Council’s own inquiry into data centres is due to report by 30 September 2026.
Closer to home, Lane Cove Council has called for State Significant Development applications for data centres in the Lane Cove LGA to be temporarily suspended while broader regulatory and planning issues are worked through.
What this means for Lane Cove West
Project Mars is off the table. The wider data centre question in the Lane Cove West Business Park is not.
AirTrunk’s existing SYD2 campus at 1 Sirius Road is approaching capacity, with a further 40 megawatts under construction. AirTrunk also has approval for a facility on Apollo Place and has proposed a separate five-storey, 140 megawatt data centre at 87-91 Mars Road with around 120 diesel backup generators.
A further proposal at 16-20 Mars Road, put forward by a proponent known only as Lane Cove DC Alliance, was endorsed by the Investment Delivery Authority in March 2026. In the Cove has lodged a GIPA request seeking more information about the developer and the size of that facility.
Lane Cove Responsible Planning has said it opposes any further data centre development in the business park, including the AirTrunk proposal.
What happens next
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure is expected to confirm the withdrawal in writing, as Goodman has requested. The status of the application (SSD-82052708) can be followed on the NSW Planning Portal.
Residents who want to have their say on where large data centres should and should not go can still make a submission to the federal consultation before 9 October 2026.
In the Cove will update this story as reaction comes in.
Previous ITC Data Centre Coverage
- Lane Cove Has Their Say: Federal Inquiry into Data Centres Held in Lane Cove
- “You can hear the humming before you can see it”: Lane Cove West Residents Pack Out Data Centre Meeting
- Goodman Opens Bookings for Project Mars Community Information Sessions
- Lane Cove Community Group Joins National Push to Halt Data Centre Approvals
- Goodman Data Centre Under Pressure After Mass Public Submissions
- Government Regulators Drop the Ball as Data Centre Proposals Soar
- Two More Data Centres Planned for Lane Cove West Business Park
- Goodman Lodges Mars Road Lane Cove West Data Centre Development Application
- NSW Parliamentary Inquiry Launched into Data Centres’ Rapid Expansion
- Cluster Boom: Will Data Centre Noise Be Noticeable in Your Lane Cove Neighbourhood?
- Cluster Boom: Sydney Water Infrastructure Under Pressure as Data Centre Approvals Surge
- Should Data Centres Be Located Near Areas Zoned as Residential?
- Two New Data Centres Planned for In and Near the Lane Cove Local Government Area
In the Cove is independent and locally owned. We have followed Project Mars since the first community newsletter landed in Lane Cove West letterboxes in April 2025. If this reporting matters to you, support ITC here.
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