When it comes to homes, it’s all about the data
Industry group fears Victoria is aiming to provide more data centres at the expense of building more houses.
THE rapid expansion of data centres threatens to add to the shortages of shovel-ready land, planning delays and rising building material costs which are seriously constricting housing supply in Victoria.
Housing Industry Association Victoria deputy executive director Steven Wojtkiw said while data centres can make an important contribution to diversifying the Victorian economy, their growth must not be at the expense of one of the most fundamental necessities of life: a home.
“Builders want to build homes and Victorians want and need more homes built. The growth of large-scale data centres must not be allowed to continue unchecked,” he said.
Wojtkiw added that, in Victoria, there are more than 30 data centre projects already operating and a similar number in the pipeline.
“The rapid expansion of several large-scale data centre projects suggests some projects may be expecting to take advantage of the Victorian Government’s Development Facilitation Program (DFP) which fast-tracks planning pathways and facilitation services for projects with construction costs worth at least $50 million.
“The DFP process should be used sparingly, not as a way to side-step deep and wide consultation around significant land use projects that have long-term implications for Victorian communities, and other industries like agribusiness, transport, retail and tourism.
“Apart from their large land use footprint, data centres place huge demands on power and water supplies, effectively competing for these scare resources and their alternative use.”
Wojtkiw said the recent purchase of 170 hectares of residential-allocated land north-west of Geelong by a data centre operator provides a case study of what is at stake.
“Conversion of this land to a non-residential use will remove some 2000 homes from potential development,” he said/
“This may result in the loss of development infrastructure contributions that would otherwise be paid by developers if the land were used for residential housing.
“While providing an economic benefit during construction, ongoing employment is usually much lower, and the costs of resource consumption, particularly electricity and water much higher.
“The potential consequences of these sorts of developments deserve full transparency and engagement with local communities and their councils.
“The state government’s unbridled enthusiasm for data centre development is concerning.
“These developments should not be fast-tracked through the DFP to achieve swift public relations wins at the expense of proper regulatory scrutiny and community feedback,” Wojtkiw said.
