FURIOUS South Morang residents are claiming that data centre developments have been approved without public notice or public consultation, resulting in a petition where over 4000 residents have spoken out against the proposal of new centres near residential homes.
An information day will be held at the Riverside Community Centre on Sunday for residents to discuss their concerns.
The data centre developments, located at 525 and 535 McDonalds Road and 765 Plenty Road, was granted a planning permit in September 2025, with amendments made across 2025. Construction is slated to start in late 2026 to early 2027.
The project is managed by Dover DC, saying it would commit to developing the project sustainably as it tried to ease resident concerns.
“The project is supported by investors with a long history of active property and infrastructure development, including successful local projects,” Dover DC’s website reads.
“The project will form an important part of the next-generation of vital Victoria digital infrastructure that will deliver critical economic and everyday technology benefits – including better enabling essential services for banking, communications and health – to the City of Whittlesea and Melbourne’s north-east.
“The responsible project group is committed to developing the project sustainably and mitigating its impact on the local community. A commitment reflected in the significant work undertaken, in consultation with government departments and agencies, in addressing key focus areas for community stakeholders, including in respect of power, water use and local amenity.
“Effective stakeholder engagement is central to our development approach, and we will ensure the local community is kept informed.”
The Legislative Council petition has 4213 signatures as of yesterday, with residents signalling concerns about water, electricity and environmental impacts. The petition is also sponsored by member of the Victorian Legislative Council for the Greens in the North-Eastern Metropolitan region, Aiv Puglielli.
“Many residents are concerned about the potential impacts of a large hyperscale data centre on the surrounding community and that they did not receive public notice or public consultation before planning permits were approved. Residents have concerns about water and electricity usage, environmental impacts on the surrounding community, noise during and after construction and any potential short or long-term health impacts on the community,” the petition reads.
“Residents are calling for greater transparency about the project, ongoing communication and public information sessions where the community can ask questions, clear information about traffic, noise, electricity, water use and environmental management, and careful consideration of the project’s impacts on the surrounding community.
“We are demanding answers and support from local councillors, local members of Parliament, and the Minister who approved the project.”
On Dover DC’s website, the company has a section addressing the community impacts.
On power impacts, Dover DC wrote: “The current design is consistent with best-practice power usage efficiency targets to ensure responsible use of power. Connection to the South Morang Terminal Station requires no significant network augmentation, avoiding expensive infrastructure costs that could ultimately be passed on to consumers.”
Dover DC also say they developed a strategy in consultation with Yarra Valley Water.
“The project’s water strategy has been developed in consultation with Yarra Valley Water (YVW) and is aligned to the YVW demand management objectives, including considerations around peak hour load shedding on peak network demand days. The current design target is less than a litre of water per kilowatt-hour, based on best-practice cooling system design. Our current design is flexible to enable the future integration of recycled water when supply and connection are made available in line with the Victoria Government’s policy position for large non-residential users,” they wrote.
“The project complies with Melbourne Water’s requirements and flood modelling scenarios. As part of the project, the Heath’s Court Drain is being significantly upgraded – including through the construction of a new in-ground retention area – to provide improved drainage outcomes.”
Dover DC also addressed noise concerns.
“The project has been designed to meet all mandated noise and amenity limits. A noise impact assessment completed in relation to the (limited) nearby residential areas confirmed that noise is within the allowable limits under worst-case operating scenarios. We are also currently undertaking further baseline monitoring work in advance of regulatory requirements. Compliance with noise limits is an ongoing obligation through construction and operations,” they wrote.
One resident, who wrote in to the Whittlesea Review, expressed their concerns about the proposal.
“We have also been advised that a second site on Findon Road and Williamson Road has been submitted to the Department but not reviewed as yet. This second site directly borders local family homes,” they wrote.
“We have serious concerns regarding excessive electricity and water usage by data centres, pollution, impacts on native wildlife/nature reserves and our health if this project goes ahead. Residents are calling for an emergency moratorium on the South Morang data centre projects until further public transparency and consultation is received, including whether mandatory planning considerations were followed for amenity, traffic, flooding, vegetation, notice and infrastructure.”
At July’s Council Meeting, the City of Whittlesea said it opposed the centre, and will present a report at the upcoming meeting on August 18.
“Council is not the decision maker for this application. An application for a data centre at 525 and 535 McDonalds Road and 765 Plenty Road in South Morang was lodged with the Victorian Government through their Development Facilitation Program,” Acting CEO Debbie Wood said at the meeting.
“Council provided a submission opposing the centre on the basis that it did not align with strategic plans for the area and interrupted key transport connections. Despite Council’s concerns, the Minister approved the application.
“Council officers will present a report to the August Council Meeting, recommending further advocacy to Federal and State Governments to implement stronger regulation, policies and assessment frameworks for data centres to ensure that they are located in appropriate locations, and are designed with high environmental performance.
“Queries about the project should be directed to the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.”