St Rafqa Maronite Catholic Church plans for Austral approved
A decision has now been made on multimillion-dollar plans for a church in the semirural suburb of Austral after an independent planning panel initially deferred a decision on the proposal.
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Multimillion-dollar plans for a new church and community centre in the semirural suburb of Austral have been approved by an independent planning panel.
The decision comes after Sydney Western City Planning Panel initially deferred the application in October, asking the applicant to prepare a revised plan of management to address issues such as noise and traffic impacts from the project.
The $6.6 million plans for 135 Eighth Ave, Austral, recently received the green light subject to conditions which require a traffic management plan to be drawn up before the buildings are occupied.
The plans were lodged by St Rafqa Maronite Catholic Church, which currently operates at the site in ageing facilities.
Planning documents show the church will operate from Tuesday to Friday, opening at 9am for administration, maintenance and cleaners.
Between 5.30pm and 7.30pm about 150 churchgoers will attend mass.
About 120 people are also expected to visit the church for irregular meetings during the week from 7.30pm to 9pm.
On weekends, church services and activities will be spread out throughout the day.
An adjoining community centre will operate on Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 6pm and on weekends from 9am to 8.30pm.
Use of the centre will be restricted to church activities and on five special days throughout the year - Christmas Eve, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, St Rafqa Feast Day and Palm Sunday - it will be allowed to operate until midnight.
According to the revised plan of management, the maximum number of people allowed onsite will be capped at 875.
A total of 155 carparking spaces, with 125 spaces at basement-level and 30 above-ground spaces will be created as part of the project.