A three-storey datacentre planned for Hazelmere, a suburb northeast of Perth, has been abandoned after GreenSquare Group withdrew its development application. The 15,000 sq m facility was designed to provide 120 megawatts of power to support cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Community opposition centered on the datacentre’s proximity to culturally significant sites, prompting the developer to halt the project indefinitely.

Residents and local Aboriginal groups argued the facility would disrupt heritage locations and affect the area’s cultural landscape. Opposition intensified over several months, with public meetings drawing hundreds of concerned locals and traditional owners. The GreenSquare datacentre had faced regulatory scrutiny and environmental assessments before facing sustained backlash.

What the proposed datacentre would have included

The GreenSquare datacentre was slated to feature three floors of server infrastructure, cooling systems and backup power units. It was positioned to serve major cloud providers and AI developers seeking low-latency data processing in Western Australia. The site’s location, near Hazelmere’s industrial zone, was selected for its access to power infrastructure but sparked controversy due to its proximity to culturally sensitive land.

Documents lodged with the Western Australian Planning Commission outlined plans for high-density server racks, redundant power systems and fibre-optic connectivity to national networks. The facility was expected to create around 50 full-time jobs during operation and 200 during construction, according to GreenSquare’s initial proposal.

Regulatory and environmental concerns raised

The project attracted multiple objections from government agencies and heritage bodies. The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage raised concerns about visual impact and noise levels, while Aboriginal heritage groups flagged risks to unrecorded cultural sites. An environmental impact assessment identified potential groundwater interference, though GreenSquare maintained mitigation measures were in place.

The withdrawal comes as Australia grapples with balancing tech infrastructure growth against environmental and cultural protections. Similar datacentre projects have faced delays or rejections in other states over water usage and land-use disputes. The GreenSquare case highlights tensions between digital economy expansion and local community values.

GreenSquare Group has not indicated whether it will revise the proposal or pursue alternative sites. The company stated it was reviewing feedback before determining next steps. Local council representatives confirmed no further applications had been lodged for the Hazelmere site as of this week.

The decision reflects growing public resistance to large-scale industrial developments near residential and culturally significant areas. It also signals potential challenges for tech companies seeking to expand data infrastructure in Western Australia amid tightening regulations and community activism.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: The Guardian
  • Published: May 15, 2026 at 08:57 UTC
  • Category: Business
  • Topics: #guardian · #business · #economy · #machine-learning · #developer

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Curated by GlobalBR News · May 15, 2026

🇧🇷 Resumo em Português

Comunidade freia gigante da tecnologia: projeto de megadatacenter na Austrália é engavetado após protestos

O que parecia mais um passo inevitável da expansão tecnológica global esbarrou na força da organização popular. Um megadatacenter planejado para ocupar 15 mil metros quadrados em Perth, na Austrália, acaba de ser descartado pelo desenvolvedor após uma onda de resistência liderada por moradores e grupos indígenas, que denunciaram a ameaça a sítios de importância cultural e ambiental na região.

A decisão joga luz sobre um debate cada vez mais frequente no mundo contemporâneo: até onde deve ir a infraestrutura digital sem esbarrar em direitos fundamentais e identidades locais. No caso australiano, a polêmica girou em torno da ocupação de terras com vestígios arqueológicos e áreas consideradas sagradas por comunidades aborígenes, levantando questões sobre a governança de megaprojetos em um cenário de crescente demanda por armazenamento de dados. Para o Brasil, onde projetos de data centers também enfrentam resistência — seja por impacto ambiental ou por disputas territoriais —, o episódio serve como alerta sobre a necessidade de diálogo prévio e respeito às populações afetadas.

Agora, especialistas analisam se o recuo do desenvolvedor sinaliza um novo paradigma de responsabilidade corporativa ou se foi apenas um caso isolado de pressão local.

🇪🇸 Resumen en Español

Una multinacional retira su proyecto de un centro de datos en Perth tras una fuerte oposición vecinal por su impacto en lugares de valor cultural.

La decisión del desarrollador llega tras meses de protestas ciudadanas que alertaron sobre la amenaza que suponía la construcción de un centro de 15.000 m² para yacimientos aborígenes y espacios sagrados. Este caso refleja la creciente tensión entre el avance tecnológico y la preservación del patrimonio, un debate que también resuena en el mundo hispanohablante, donde proyectos de infraestructuras digitales chocan cada vez más con comunidades indígenas y medioambientalistas. La retirada del proyecto no solo subraya la importancia de la participación ciudadana en la planificación urbana, sino que también plantea preguntas sobre cómo equilibrar la innovación con el respeto a la cultura y el territorio.