Blackburn mosque to be rebuilt across from Forest Hill Chase

Plans for a three-storey mosque opposite Forest Hill Chase shopping centre have finally be approved. It comes after years of opposition from neighbours who were opposed to the former funeral parlour being developed.

The three-storey mosque will go up next to Forest Hill Chase shopping centre.

A three-storey mosque is set to go up opposite Forest Hill Chase shopping centre in place of an old funeral parlour after years of controversy surrounding the site’s development.

Whitehorse Council has finally approved a rebuild of the mosque at 245-247 Canterbury Rd, Blackburn, more than five years after the Islamic community first tried to redevelop the site, and almost 10 years after it began worshipping inside the former funeral home.

Plans for the upgrade were given the green light last Monday, despite significant opposition from people living in the surrounding area.

The new mosque will be 10.7m high.

There are concerns the 1609sq m site, which is in an area restricted by Significant Landscape Overlay Schedule 2 in the planning scheme, would impact the area’s vegetation and character.

When the plans were advertised late last year the council received 39 objections saying the design lacked respect for neighbourhood character, would overdevelop the site and had a lack of on-site parking.

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The applicant has since changed its plans and the council has imposed further conditions, placing the 10.7m building further in from the site’s boundary and creating more opportunity for vegetation to be planted.

The new building will include 16 basement carparks, one more park than the mosque presently has, while the maximum number of people allowed to congregate at the site — 90 — has not been increased.

The mosque will go up opposite Forest Hill Chase shopping centre.

When the planning application was unanimously approved by councillors, Cr Andrew Munroe said the design was appropriate for the “heavily treed area”.

“It is not something I think will look dramatically out of place in the setting,” he said.

“I think (the applicants) have worked very hard to have the mosque integrate into the community cognisant of the setting and sensitivity of the environment.”

The mosque is currently a one-storey building.

Cr Denise Massoud said the community were concerned about the “substantial building” but had been “very supportive” of the site being used as a mosque.

“And the community are very supportive of that continuing.”

She said a careful construction plan was needed to manage traffic at the busy intersection of Canterbury and Forest roads during the build.

The permit comes after plans to build a 16.1m, four-storey mosque covering 70 per cent of the site were opposed by the council, residents and VCAT in 2014.