What people are saying about NEXTDC S4 Data Centre Phase 2, Horsley Park

Main concerns

Most raised first. One comment can raise more than one concern.

1. 01

   Water use

   Raised in 6 of 38 comments

   The most common worry is how much water the centre will need for cooling. One resident who read the documents notes NEXTDC plans to use recycled water, but asks whether it would fall back on drinking water on a hot day. Others point to data centres in the United States.

   • “Won't it affect water like it does in America?”

   • “NEXTDC plans to use recycled water for cooling, which is good to see. How much water would the site need on a really hot day, and would it draw on drinking water if the recycled supply fell short?”

2. 02

   Locals weren't told

   Raised in 4 of 38 comments

   People ask how the project got this far without them hearing about it, and which streets and suburbs were notified. Several only learned of Phase 2 from a post in a community group. One commenter points to the NSW Government's August 2026 data centre guidelines as a yardstick for the proposal.

   • “How do these get approved without public knowledge”

   • “I only heard about the proposal through your post, and I wonder how many other locals would have missed the chance to have their say if you hadn’t brought it to our attention.”

3. 03

   Noise, heat and diesel generators

   Raised in 3 of 38 comments

   Residents ask what the closest homes will hear from cooling equipment at night, what air quality will be like if backup diesel generators at both phases run during the same outage, and about a post claiming the site could have six towers up to 34 metres high.

   • “What would people in the closest homes hear from the cooling equipment at night? What would air quality look like if backup diesel generators at both phases ran during the same outage?”

   • “Apparently the noise , and the heat it would produce will cause a lot of problems for our city.”

4. 04

   Western Sydney gets them all

   Raised in 3 of 38 comments

   Some feel data centres are being concentrated in Western Sydney rather than wealthier areas. Others point out that the site is about 6 km from Abbotsbury, Calmsley Hill Farm and Sydney Zoo, and that parts of Horsley Park flood.

   • “Well of course, we can't make them in the elite suburbs.”

   • “This is less than 6km from us, including Calmsley Hill Farm. Also 6km from Sydney Zoo.”

5. 05

   Power prices and supply

   Raised in 2 of 38 comments

   A 134 MW load worries people who expect it to push up household electricity bills or strain supply. Supporters reply that the site will have its own substation.

   • “We will all ultimately be paying for it with electricity , water usage, etc Another way they are burdening our families again”

   • “Continuous humming noises, strain on power , you name it - residents will suffer”

6. 06

   Few jobs, and who benefits

   Raised in 1 of 38 comments

   Opponents expect a short construction boom followed by a small permanent workforce, and say the profits go elsewhere.

   • “Who are these bootlickers thinking this is good? The only people who benefit from data centers are billionaires”

What supporters say

1. Progress and investment

   Raised in 5 of 38 comments

   Some commenters welcome the investment and say data centres are part of how the world now works.

   • “People need to understand, data and power is how the world is going to work and being run in the future. Unfortunately adapt or get left behind.”

2. It's an industrial area

   Raised in 4 of 38 comments

   Others say the concerns are overblown because the site is in an industrial area near other data centres and creates little pollution or traffic.

   • “its in a industrial area, and its a not a coal fired power plant, its a data centre. they hardly create any pollution or traffic compared to other industries.”

3. Local work

   Raised in 3 of 38 comments

   People who have worked in data centres say they are quiet neighbours and bring work closer to home.

   • “Awesome! More work for me and closer to home. Sick of all the DCs being closer to the City and North Shore”

How the community is responding

• Calls to lodge submissions

  Posts in the Cabramatta and Abbotsbury community groups urge residents to make a submission before exhibition closes, and are being shared to Cecil Hills.

  Facebook

• Trouble with the Planning Portal

  One resident says it took six attempts to register a Major Projects account to make a submission, and asks whether others have had the same problem.

  Facebook

• Phase 1 is already under construction

  Multiplex has broken ground on NEXTDC's S4 Sydney campus at Johnston Crescent, and several commenters say construction there is well under way.

  Facebook

• NEXTDC's Melbourne site hit by community opposition

  Residents' opposition to power poles for NEXTDC's M3 site in West Footscray delayed the project, and NEXTDC's shares fell about 40% after it cut its forecasts. The story has been widely shared on Reddit.

  Reddit

Sources

• A massive data centre planned in Horsley Park (Cabramatta community group)Facebook · 66 comments
• A 134 MW data centre 5.6 km from Abbotsbury (Abbotsbury community group)Facebook · 19 comments
• NEXTDC Phase 2 is on exhibition: make a submission (Cabramatta community group)Facebook · 11 comments
• Multiplex breaks ground on NEXTDC's S4 Sydney data centreFacebook
• $1.79b NEXTDC data centre expansion proposed in Horsley Park (r/AustralianDataCentre)Reddit
• NEXTDC's shares plunge 40% amid local community opposition in Melbourne (r/technology)Reddit · 99 comments
• NEXTDC cuts FY27 guidance: what it means for projects in Sydney's west (r/AustralianDataCentres)Reddit · 9 comments
• NSW Government expectations for data centres (August 2026)News