This site near a Sydney metro station could be home to hundreds. Instead, 50 people will work there

A controversial project to build an energy-intensive data centre near transport hubs instead of rezoning the land for housing has been slammed as a sign of mismatched development priorities, which critics warn is proof of a “deeply troubling” trend sweeping Sydney.

The proposed $1.5 billion data centre 15 kilometres north of the CBD on Julius Avenue is 750 metres, or a 10-minute walk, from North Ryde metro station.

If approved, a 51-metre-high, seven-storey data centre, with 50 operational staff, and a maximum power consumption of 170 megawatts (enough to power more than 240,000 homes for a year), will be built.

There are multiple data centres within the Macquarie Park corridor, as 45 per cent of land in the tech-intensive district is zoned for productivity support. While this promotes jobs and industrial activity close to transport hubs, it also prevents sites such as the one at North Ryde from being used for housing.

The 28,630-square-metre site, which shares a southern border with Lane Cove National Park, will have offices, 54 car spaces, 73 back-up generators, and capacity for 1.3 million litres of diesel to be stored onsite.

The developers are proposing 509 trees be cut down to make space, which raised concerns from the bulk of the 152 public submissions to the development.

City of Ryde Mayor Trenton Brown said building data centres on land he thinks is better suited for homes flies in the face of the NSW government’s plans for housing uplift. Under Labor’s transport-oriented housing reforms, Macquarie Park is earmarked for 9600 new homes within 800 metres of metro stations.

“This raises serious concerns whether council can continue to meet its ambitious housing targets,” Brown said.

“I am confused as to why, in a housing crisis, the state government is permitting their [data centre] approval over housing on sites that were identified for significant residential uplift.”

Ryde council needs to meet its target of building 11,600 new homes by mid-2029. The council has zeroed in on four current and planned data centres in the precinct as holding significant housing potential if the land were rezoned.

The council pointed to two existing data centres on Giffnock Avenue and Eden Park Drive (750 metres and 350 metres from Macquarie Park metro) which could yield 180 and 282 homes respectively. Similarly, two facilities slated for Lane Cove Road and Waterloo Road could potentially add 1060 and 707 homes.

“We are not a NIMBY council and are fully supportive of efforts to solve Sydney’s housing crisis, but data centres are bad neighbours in areas that have been earmarked for aggressive housing uplift,” Brown said.

Planning Minister Paul Scully said there was “no ban” on data centres in Macquarie Park.

Asked whether these locations would be better suited for housing, and if the government would consider rezoning land in the tech corridor for apartments, Scully said: “We are addressing the state’s housing challenges, but it’s important that we also balance that with supplying land which supports jobs and industry.”

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