SYDNEY, May 4, 2026, 01:03 (AEST)
Goodman Group’s plan for a large data centre in Sydney’s Lane Cove has become a live test of its AI-infrastructure push, with residents challenging the scale of the project days before public submissions close. Guardian Australia reported at the weekend that Lane Cove resident Daniel Bolger called the concentration of facilities the “cluster issue,” while Data Centres Australia CEO Belinda Dennett said the industry offered a “significant opportunity”; the same report also pointed to public concern around NextDC’s M3 site in Melbourne. The Guardian
The timing matters because the approval clock is running. The NSW planning portal lists Project Mars as a State Significant Development — a status that puts assessment with state planning authorities — with public exhibition running from March 27 to May 5.
It also matters because data centres, large buildings that house servers and network equipment, are now central to Goodman’s growth case. Goodman told the ASX in February that data centres accounted for 73% of its A$14.4 billion development work in progress, and Chief Executive Greg Goodman said “Power, sites and capital are critical” as the group targets customer “commitments expected in 2026.” ASX Announcements
Lane Cove Council said Goodman had applied to build the facility at 12 Mars Road, demolishing four warehouses and replacing them with two data-centre buildings operating 24 hours a day and drawing up to 90 megawatts of power. A megawatt is a measure of electric capacity; at this scale, power access becomes a planning issue as much as a property issue.
But the risks are already visible. Council said it had lodged concerns about height, noise, protected bushland, the nearby community nursery and the cumulative burden that four data centres could place on local water, electricity and road networks. Any redesign, added mitigation or slower approval would cut against the speed Goodman wants from scarce powered sites near major cities.
The local fight is not just about Goodman. In The Cove, a Lane Cove local news outlet, reported that the area has five data centres built, approved or in planning, including two existing AirTrunk facilities, a new AirTrunk proposal, Goodman’s Project Mars and a DC Alliance proposal.
Goodman has argued that its wider data-centre pipeline is supported by scarce power and urban land. The company’s own data-centre page lists a 6.0 gigawatt global power bank, with 0.7 gigawatts stabilised and 0.3 gigawatts in work in progress.
Investors are still treating the stock as a data-centre proxy, though not without limits. MarketScreener lists 13 analysts covering Goodman with a mean “buy” consensus, an average target price of A$34.46 and a last close of A$29.96. MarketScreener
For now, the immediate issue is procedural, not financial. Goodman has the capital story, the land story and the AI-demand story; Lane Cove is testing whether the community and planning story can keep pace.
