Developer Goodman Group says changes in government rules are behind decision to pull plug on ‘Project Mars’ in Lane Cove

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Plans for a controversial $1.2bn datacentre in Lane Cove in Sydney’s north have been withdrawn, with the developer blaming “emerging” regulations from the state and federal governments for the decision to pull the plug.

The “Project Mars” plans were withdrawn from the NSW planning portal on Monday, with the developer, Goodman Group, posting on its site that the policy and regulatory environment for large-scale datacentres had “evolved significantly”.

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