Plans to construct a major artificial intelligence data centre along Sydney’s Cooks River have been officially abandoned, with local campaigners celebrating what they describe as a definitive win for community advocacy.
Developers Stockland and John Boyd Properties dropped the data centre component from their proposal for the former Kogarah Golf Club site at Arncliffe. The site was originally slated for a $3.5 billion logistics precinct featuring the facility. Community group Stop the Cooks River AI Project (SCRAP), which formed in August and gathered hundreds of members, led the opposition against the project.
Organisers and local residents voiced grave concerns over potential ecological damage to the river area—known as Goolay'yari in local Indigenous languages—citing risks to endangered plant and animal species, local water contamination, and massive energy consumption. Bayside Greens councillor Peter Strong, who spearheaded council opposition, noted that the site has evolved into a local wildlife sanctuary since the golf course closed.
Following the withdrawal, a Stockland spokesperson confirmed that the updated concept masterplan for the logistics precinct omits the data centre. Instead, the revised proposal will focus on delivering community amenities, including a one-kilometre public foreshore link, the 14-hectare Pemulwuy Park, local road upgrades, and improved active transport connections.
The decision marks the latest cancellation of a proposed data centre in New South Wales following public resistance, following similar outcomes in Lane Cove and Guildford. Despite the change, SCRAP has indicated it will maintain its campaign against the broader logistics precinct and push for a statewide ban on new AI data centres.
