Glenhaven mosque: New plans from The Hills District Muslim Society
Amended plans for a proposed mosque in rural Sydney have been revealed with a community group vowing to fight the development ‘until the end’.
Hills Shire
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hills Shire. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The long-running saga over the building of a controversial mosque in a rural Sydney community has resurfaced after updated plans were released.
The Hills District Muslim Society ‘Hills AWQAF Pty Ltd’ last week lodged amended plans for the place of worship at 1 Larapinta Place.
The $7.5 million development was refused by a state planning panel in 2019 before an appeal was lodged against the decision in the Land and Environment Court by Iconfm Australia Pty Ltd last February.
The developer is still seeking to still create a two-storey building containing two prayer halls that can cater for up to 250 people.
The segregated prayer halls will cater for 180 men and 69 women and one imam.
It will also include a childminding area, classrooms, offices and 82 car park spaces.
The complex will be used for prayer services, religious events such as Ramadan as well as a childcare, according to the latest plans.
Community group, Friends of Glenhaven Incorporated, has been opposed to the development for four years and said it objected to the updated proposal.
A spokesman for the group claimed there were “significant issues” with the new proposal.
“The proposal will have adverse noise, traffic, parking implications on adjoining residents, is inconsistent with the objectives of the RU6 transition zone, the site coverage is excessive, and the sewage effluent disposal poses negative environmental impacts,” he said.
“So where does this leave the Glenhaven community? Well, we have objected to this once. We did it a second time and now we will do it a third.
“The Friends of Glenhaven committee and community have been fighting this for four years and we will fight until the end.
“This is an application for a development on a site simply not fit for purpose.”
Cr Peter Gangemi added: “The applicant can alter the plans but the fundamentals remain the same.
“Places of Worship are not suitable on rural transition lands and this site has significant traffic issues with Glenhaven Road as well as negative impacts on acoustics and wastewater. The community’s opinion on this proposal deserves to be respected.”
The Hills District Muslim Society claims places of public worship are allowed on the transitional rural land.
“Places of Public Worship were an expressly permissible use within the RU6 Zone with several Places of Public Worship within the surrounding area, including within the RU6 Zone along Glenhaven Road,” according to the amended environmental report.
“The proposed use is consistent with the type of land-use intensity envisaged as an appropriate transition between rural and other land uses of varying intensities.”
The previous proposal was first knocked back by the Sydney Central City Planning Panel in August 2019 because it believed more worshippers were expected than 250.
“The panel believes there is a real prospect that the patronage at the proposed mosque will be greater than forecast because of the internal area being substantially larger than is needed for the proposed maximum of 250 worshippers,” according to the panel’s reasons.
Other reasons included it exceeding the maximum height in the area and concerns of noise, traffic and parking were also raised.
A Hills Council spokeswoman said the majority of land along the northern side of Glenhaven Road is zoned RU6 Transition. “In regards to the proposal for 1 Larapinta Place, it was lodged at a time when Places of Worship were permissible in the RU6 Transition Zone. This means, the proposal will be considered under the controls of the time it was lodged.”
Yet she said places of public worship are now prohibited within the RU6 Transition zoning because of the “scale and incompatibility of these land uses” in rural areas.
“These changes were made in 2020 with the support of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.”
She said the updated proposal still includes a place of worship, but with a reduced footprint of 2034m2 and increased setbacks on Glenhaven Road and Larapinta Place.
“Other changes include the reconfiguration of basement, removal of the grade car spaces and provision of additional landscaping,” the council spokeswoman said.
“Adjustment to the number of prayer mats in the male and female prayer halls (now 180 male and 69 females) has also been amended, as well as the relocation of the offices to the ground floor.
“The community are invited to have their say on the proposal, and those who have previously lodged a submission will need to go through the process again.”
The Hills District Muslim Society and Iconfm Australia Pty Ltd have been approached for comment.
The next court hearing date has been scheduled for September.
Residents can lodge a submission at council’s website.
Join the conversation
Comeback, two-try stars in Waratahs v Reds U16s Super Rugby battle
It took them a while but the NSW Waratahs finally found their groove against the Queensland Reds as one of rugby’s best rivalries ignited in the Super Rugby U16s. Stars, great photos.
Read more
Fugitive Nassif owes $1.9bn as Toplace records handed to ICAC
Creditors care claiming fugitive property developer Jean Nassif’s Toplace owes them a huge sum – as it can finally be confirmed the NSW ICAC and NSW Crime Commission are investigating the wanted man.
Read more