Catholic Church submits plans for St Rafqa Maronite Church at Austral
The Catholic Church’s plans for a 400-seat church and community centre in rural Austral have hit a snag at the Western City Planning Panel.
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A new church and community centre are being considered for the semi-rural suburb of Austral in Sydney’s southwest but concerns have been raised about increased traffic and noise.
The $6.6 million plans were lodged by St Rafqa Maronite Catholic Church in May 2018, with a new church and hall proposed for 135 Eighth Ave, where it currently operates.
The project would also include 155 carparking spaces, with 125 spaces at basement-level and 30 above-ground spaces.
Planning documents reveal the proposed new church would seat 450 people and the maximum number of visitors and worshippers expected onsite at any one time, including during festivals and special functions, would be 900.
Its proposed hours of operation from Monday to Friday would be 9am to 5pm, with worship services and occasional committee meetings in the evenings from Tuesday to Friday.
Church activities and services would be spread out throughout the day on weekends.
The site has a maximum building height of 9m, with the majority of the development falling below that limit, except for part of the roof and the church spires.
The surrounding area is characterised by detached dwellings and Austral Bowling Club is located about 75m from the site, according to a Statement of Environmental Effects prepared by ABC Planning.
“The area is undergoing a period of transition in terms of development, from low scale
dwellings on large parcels of land to denser residential development in accordance with the
recent planning policies implemented for the area,” the document read.
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On Monday, members of the Sydney Western City Planning Panel voted unanimously to defer the determination of the proposal following a public meeting.
Panel chair Justin Doyle said the matter was deferred “for further consideration” to give the applicant the opportunity to provide an updated plan of management and address issues raised during the meeting.
They included potential traffic and noise impacts from a proposal to lease the community centre for commercial purposes such as weddings and birthday celebrations.
Representatives of the applicant said during the meeting use of the hall for private functions could be removed to allay concerns, with the community centre to be used only for church-related activities.
Three letters of objection were received during the public exhibition period.
Mr Doyle said the panel saw merit in the proposal with the relevant amendments.