An anonymous developer has withdrawn its data center plans in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia, after the proposal was met with strong opposition from residents and local authorities.
“In a win for the activism of council and community- the application for a data center at North Katoomba has been WITHDRAWN!” said Mayor of the Blue Mountains Mark Greenhill in a Facebook post.
Mohammad Hammoud, the general manager of engineering firm MAK Urban Group, the developer behind the project, confirmed that they were withdrawing their application.
“We remain confident that data center infrastructure can deliver significant economic, employment, and digital connectivity benefits to regional communities,” he said in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday.
“However, throughout the assessment process we have listened closely to the views expressed by local residents, community groups and other stakeholders … Rather than continue with the current application, we have chosen to step back and undertake further consideration of the proposal.”
Concerns about the data center’s environmental footprint, its noise profile, and its suitability with the local area were among the main concerns cited in a petition against the project that has garnered more than 730 signatures at the time of writing.
The proposed data center would have been built at 41-45 Barton Street and spanned 3,118 sqm (33,561 sq ft) across two wings.
There appear to be no data centers in Katoomba, according to Data Center Map. Katoomba is located west of Sydney, which is one of Australia’s largest data center markets.