The resource consent for the Datagrid Hyperscale Data Centre at Makarewa will not be reviewed. An independent hearing commissioner made that call on September 4, rejecting a request from the Southland Sustainable Resources Coalition to scrutinise the consent conditions under section 128 of the Resource Management Act.
SSRC's request centred on noise — specifically low-frequency noise and infrasound, cooling system noise, substation and generator noise, and concerns that the original assessment may have missed important information or relied on flawed acoustic modelling assumptions.
The legal test for triggering a review is specific. Southland District Council must be satisfied either that an adverse environmental effect may arise that wasn't foreseen when the consent was granted, or that Datagrid supplied inaccurate information that materially influenced the consent decision. Disagreeing with the methodology or conclusions of the original assessment isn't enough on its own.
The commissioner found that neither threshold had been met. The information before Council did not establish that an unforeseen adverse effect may arise, nor that Datagrid's information contained inaccuracies that had a material influence on the outcome.
That's a clear result for Datagrid. For SSRC and the residents who backed their challenge, it's a door closed — at least through this particular legal avenue.
Southland District Council says the decision doesn't end its oversight role. It will continue to monitor compliance with the existing consent conditions, investigate complaints where appropriate, and carry out compliance monitoring once the facility becomes operational. Regulatory and enforcement powers under the RMA remain available.
All documents relating to Resource Consent RMA/2025/53212 are on the Southland District Council website.