City of Swan councillors have agreed to draft a local planning policy that would shape how future data centre proposals are assessed across the municipality.
At Wednesday’s ordinary council meeting, Midland-Guildford ward councillor Sarah Howlett successfully moved a notice of motion directing the city’s chief executive to prepare a draft policy covering data centre development applications in Swan. The vote was unanimous.
The push comes after a proposed data centre in Hazelmere was withdrawn earlier this year following significant community concern.
Cr Howlett said data centres were now a core part of Australia’s digital infrastructure and Western Australia was well positioned to attract investment. She argued the pace of that growth made local rules necessary.
“The scale of this investment boom is unprecedented,” she said. “With growth of this scale comes a responsibility to put sensible guardrails in place now so we protect existing communities from incompatible land uses and ensure the long-term interests of the City of Swan are not compromised.”
The proposed policy would look at where facilities could be located, how they should be sited and designed, and what scale and built form would be acceptable. Councillors want it to weigh effects on nearby land uses and the wider environment.
Issues flagged for inclusion include noise from cooling plant, generators and testing; low-frequency and cumulative noise if several centres are proposed nearby; light spill; heat and emissions; heritage, flora, fauna and ecological values; fuel storage and odour; buffers from homes, waterways and other sensitive uses; and what happens when a centre reaches the end of its life.
Cr Howlett said Swan should not wait for clearer state guidance. A local policy, she said, would give residents, industry and investors more certainty while reducing amenity, environmental and infrastructure risks.
“This motion is not about stopping investment,” she said. “It is about ensuring investment occurs in the right places, under the right conditions and with the best interests of the City of Swan.”
Other Perth councils are also working through the issue. Stirling recently declined to pursue a city-wide ban, while Gosnells is preparing a draft policy for public comment later this year.
Whiteman ward councillor Hayden Miles floated an amendment asking officers to consider federal and state guidelines on data centres and AI infrastructure. Cr Howlett declined to accept it, noting the original motion had been circulated about two weeks earlier so colleagues could comment before the meeting. Cr Miles later withdrew the amendment.
The draft policy will come back to council before it is advertised, and again before any final adoption.
