NSW Planning orders removal of combustible cladding from multistorey data centre in Pyrmont

The owners of an inner Sydney data centre have been ordered to strip potentially combustible cladding from the multistorey site due to fears over fire safety risks.

A futuristic data centre building in the heart of inner Sydney has come under scrutiny after the NSW government identified potentially combustible cladding at the site.

The Department of Planning has ordered the owners of the six storey data centre building overlooking the Western Distributor in Pyrmont to remove external wall panels after inspectors found building materials containing aluminium composite panels.

The department, in a statement, said the panels were potentially combustible and posed a fire safety risk.

The building was approved for construction in 2010 and operates as one of Sydney’s largest storage hubs for online data in the cloud – a term given to computer programs, systems and information hosted on the internet.

Data centres are seen as critical infrastructure for the day-to-day functioning of the economy which is increasingly reliant on digital storage capacity and systems.

The Pyrmont site.

The department said the fire safety order was issued on April 22 and required panels to be replaced with non-combustible products by June next year.

The order further requires the owners to carry out interim fire safety measures to reduce the fire safety risks associated with the cladding until the rectification work is complete.

The centre overlooks the Western Distributor.

“The department will be monitoring the building to ensure compliance,” a department spokeswoman said.

The order comes as NSW Government is set to consider a $605m plan to expand the building’s capacity which is currently operated by DigiCo Data Centre and has previously been used by clients such as the Department of Defence.

In a statement, a spokesman for DigiCo said the cladding related to the original construction of the east building at the site.

“DigiCo management identified the issue during due diligence on its acquisition of the (site) in 2024 and has proactively engaged in discussions with the NSW Government on a rectification plan for the cladding,” he said.

The building was approved for construction in 2010.

“The (rectifications) works will be completed in the required time period working closely with NSW Government.

“The rectifications are not a material cost for the asset and were fully budgeted for by DigiCo as part of the acquisition of the (site).

“Interim monitoring measures have been put in place while the rectification works are being completed.”

The fire safety order is in line with the statewide crackdown on cladding, launched in response to the fatal Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017.

As part of the order, the building owners must complete an inspection report issued by an accredited certifier certifying that the replacement panels and method of installation complies with building standards.

NSW Planning has not released details of how many panels contain the cladding.