Glenhaven Mosque: No final decision by Land and Environment Court on appeal

After a long and drawn out court battle, Hills Shire residents are once again left waiting for the final verdict on plans for a Glenhaven mosque. Get the latest news.

After a long and drawn out court battle, Hills Shire residents are once again left waiting for the final verdict on plans for a Glenhaven mosque.

Despite widespread expectations of a judgment being reached today, the Land and Environment Court has not yet released its final determination regarding an appeal over a proposed 250-person place of worship at 1 Larapinta Place, Glenhaven.

The court is seeking more information before reaching its decision — so, for now, The Hills District Muslim Society (‘Hills AWQAF Pty Ltd’) and The Hills Shire Council remain locked in their long-running saga over the proposed construction of a mosque.

An artist impression of the proposed 250-person mosque

The Hills Shire Council has engaged town planning, traffic and acoustic experts in the appeal.

Five members of the community also presented their concerns to the court.

In a statement, Mayor Peter Gangemi made clear he continued to harbour concerns about the proposal.

“Bearing in mind council has moved to prohibit places of worship from the RU6 zones in our Local Environment Plan, it would be disappointing if this development application was approved,” he said.

Councillor Mitchell Blue was more forthright about his opposition to this mosque.

Cr Blue is a former chairman of the Friends of Glenhaven, a community group which continues to advocate against this development.

“Residents told us loud and clear that they do not support this proposal within their rural setting — the scale and use is vastly different from the surrounding homes where families live a quiet rural lifestyle,” Cr Blue said.

Current site at 1 Larapinta Place

However, as previously reported in The Hills Shire Times, Hills AWQAF’s lawyer Michael Staunton questioned during a court hearing in September if the concerns regarding noise and traffic would be the same if it was a Christian church.

Last year, Mr Staunton noted the traffic and noise concerns over 5am mass service, capped at 25 people.

But he also stressed the fact a nearby church — St Madeleine’s in Kenthurst — can host congregations of up to 300 people at Christmas and Easter.

Previous artist impressions of the Glenhaven mosque interior

The proposed mosque was first refused by the Sydney Central Planning Panel on 28 August 2019 following a public meeting attended by about 500 people.

This proposal was then taken to the Land and Environment Court in September 2021, with the court reserving its decision.

Now, the court is requesting additional information regarding the proposal’s plan of management and traffic management plan.

After this information is received, council will need to file updated conditions of consent by March 24 of this year.