Wed 18 Nov
Cumberland Council meeting
Council Chambers, 16 Memorial Avenue, Merrylands. Fill the public gallery. To speak, register by 5pm on Tuesday 17 November.
We’re not against jobs or technology. We’re against a 100-megawatt data centre with diesel backup generators 145 metres from homes, approved before most of us knew it existed.
How close is it?
From the signed consent, 23 July 2026
What’s been approved
- 100 MW
- of power, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Consent A6, B1
- 170 MW
- of diesel backup generators, with up to 2,000 tonnes of diesel stored on site.
- Consent A6, A7
- 173 hours
- a year the generators can run outside blackouts. Testing is allowed 7am–6pm Monday to Saturday and 8am–6pm on Sunday.
- Consent A7, B1
- 4.8 ML
- of water a day at peak for 26 cooling towers, nearly two Olympic pools. Recycled water is required only where it’s available.
- Project documents and consent
- No limit
- on noise at homes during unplanned blackouts. Otherwise the limit is 37–40 dB(A), rising to 46–49 while the generators run.
- Consent B7
- 25.8 m
- tall: two three-storey buildings holding nine data halls.
- Project documents
- 3 years
- of construction, with more than 200 vehicle trips a day estimated.
- Department assessment
- TBC
- is all Appendix 2 says. It should list the measures Goodman must take, and three conditions rely on it.
- Consent A2, B3, B59
From Goodman’s own consultation report
Almost nobody knew
Goodman and the Department say the neighbourhood was told. Goodman’s own report shows how little of it got through.
- 1,194
- homes and businesses got Goodman’s newsletter in their letterbox, three times between June 2024 and February 2025.
- EIS Appendix E, p. 15
- 0
- pieces of feedback from residents or local businesses through its 1800 number or project email, in the 41 weeks they were open.
- EIS Appendix E, pp. 15, 31
- 4,500
- people signed a residents’ petition once the news got out, three months after approval.
- Residents’ petition, 2 Nov 2026
That’s not a neighbourhood that didn’t care. It’s one that didn’t know.
How it happened
The Department sets the requirements for Goodman’s environmental assessment.
The plans sit on the NSW Planning Portal for 28 days. Almost nobody hears about it.
Approved by a senior Department officer on the Planning Minister’s behalf.
Residents start hearing about it in the news, three months after it was approved.
The construction plans still need approval. No work can start until they get it.
Lane Cove knew in time
Lane Cove West residents heard about Goodman’s Project Mars while it was still being assessed. They made 374 public submissions, a record for a NSW data centre according to Lane Cove Council, and in September 2026 Goodman withdrew it, citing community feedback among its reasons.
Project Mars
Lane Cove West · 90 MW
Withdrawn
September 2026
Residents knew in time
Project Pluto
Guildford West · 100 MW
Approved
July 2026
Almost nobody knew
Guildford West never got that chance. Construction hasn’t started, so there’s still time to be heard.
What we’re asking for
No construction until these are in place.
Publish the missing measures. Complete Appendix 2 and let residents comment before any construction plan is approved.
Recycled water only. Cooling towers should run on recycled water, not drinking water.
Tighter generator rules. Fewer hours, no testing on hot or poor-air days, and a public log of every run.
Independent noise monitoring. Live, published readings at homes and the sports ground, with limits that apply during blackouts too.
A community committee. Residents, sports clubs, Council and Goodman, meeting from before construction starts.
Safe construction. Trucks kept away from homes and schools, and no noisy work during weekend sport.
A buffer in law. A minimum distance between data centres and homes, schools and sports grounds.
Takes two minutes
Email the people who decide
Pick what worries you and add a line in your own words. A personal line makes your email much harder to ignore.
To
Cc
Subject
For the Minister, copy the email and paste it into the online form. Nothing you type leaves this page; the email goes from your own inbox, with a copy to the group if you leave that box ticked.
Show up
Three dates matter most. Turn up in person, or watch online.
Thu 19 Nov
Goodman Group AGM
InterContinental Sydney, 16 Phillip Street, and online. Anyone can watch the webcast as a guest; securityholders can ask questions.
Sat 13 Mar
NSW state election
Ask every candidate in your electorate where they stand on Project Pluto before you vote.
Sign and join
Sign the petition to NSW Parliament
At 500 signatures the Minister must respond in writing. It closes before Parliament’s last sitting day, 26 November, so sign now.
Sign the ePetitionJoin Guildford West Responsible Planning
Get updates, help at a stall, or come to the next meeting.
Join the group