South Sydney citizens who oppose the allocation of a 2,000-square-metre mosque are holding an open-air protest at a council meeting today, where they fear it will drive progression.
The proposed mosque on Botany Street in Carlton has attracted strong opposition since the progression application was first submitted in December 2019, with more than 4,300 local citizens raising objections in submissions to the council.
They say they are not opposed to the mosque for devout reasons, but its location in the Botany Gardens nursing home.
Residents have raised considerations about traffic jams and noise pollutants on the suburb’s quiet street.
“There’s a lot of opposition from the locals,” said George, a resident of the neighborhood, who lives two hundred yards from the place.
“The community is very close to the higher technical school, 4 or five more schools. People are worried about traffic, noise. It is a very small area, there is no parking. It’s crazy. “
The Georges River City Council’s local development plans committee postponed a resolution on the mosque in August to request more data from applicants.
A final resolution is expected to be taken at today’s LPP assembly at noon, and citizens fear their considerations will be ignored.
“George River Council did not respect the opinion of the senior citizens and the district attorney to build one of the largest mosques in south Sydney,” read a leaflet for Thursday’s protest.
“We oppose it for reasons that are still devout because of its location. The proposed progression would create increased traffic congestion and similar protection issues for cars and pedestrians. The surrounding roads can cope with the accumulation of traffic. “
George, an industry mechanical engineer who works on the safety and occupational fitness box, said he had reviewed an acoustic report made for developers and that there were “a lot of gaps and inconsistencies. “
It is proposed that the mosque have a maximum capacity of 120 more people and 22 parking lots, with opening hours from 5:30 am to 9:55 pm from Monday to Sunday.
“A sponsorship duration of one hundred will only be held once a week (Friday at noon prayer) and another prayer will attract a maximum of 20 people,” the acoustic report said.
“Up to 10 times a year (usually on public holidays that fall on Fridays and the first two and last two days of Ramadan), a capacity of 120 is expected. “
The report notes that the main noise emissions would come from “movements of vehicles and parking lots, leaking noises from internal spaces and traffic generated on the public road network. “
George, who asked not to use his last call out of “bullying,” said he was skeptical.
“Who is going to go to the police if it’s 20, 50, a hundred people?”He said.
“If someone tells me there will be no noise pollution, that’s a lie. Does Colorbond offer noise protection? If you see the area, it’s surely physically wrong for a mosque. “
George said he expected 50 to 70 more people to attend Thursday’s protest.
Earlier this year, Nine’s A Current Affair reported that tensions in the small suburb were rising, and supporters of the proposed mosque got bogged down stealing symptoms erected among citizens who opposed the project.
CCTV footage showed a small organization of young men a signal from a front fence, as citizens photographed other men fleeing with symptoms from their properties.
“But some of the things we hear when other people happen are, ‘We’re going to come,’ ‘it’s a deal made,’ ‘you can’t help us,'” he said.
“It’s a democratic right [to demonstrate]. We don’t hurt anyone. There is nothing in the symptoms offensive or rude.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a webinar on network participation was held last year in which the assignment team answered residents’ questions.
But many said they think the procedure was rushed while citizens couldn’t meet and organize.
On the eve of the August meeting, state Labour leader and local member Chris Minns suggested to the council’s mayor to postpone the meeting.
“The CitizensArray. . . they are excluded, under a stay-at-home order, subject to a curfew and cannot have physical contact with other people they do not live with,” he said. Minns in a letter.
“Residents cannot meet, organize, read or talk to other users before a resolution is made. “
News. com. au understands that Minns has met with local citizens on several occasions, most recently in November.
After that meeting, he responded to the Georges River Council requesting an extension of the time limit for citizens to respond to additional data submitted through the applicant.
George called it “curious” because Carlton didn’t have a giant Muslim population.
According to the 2016 census, Carlton has a giant Chinese population of 18. 8%, with the main responses being of English, Australian, Greek and Macedonian descent.
About five percent of respondents, or about 560 people, said they spoke Arabic at home.
In the network’s webinar, some citizens asked why he needed the mosque in Carlton when there was a “huge mosque” near Arncliffe.
“The region’s former Arabic-speaking Muslim population, sadly, has never had a proper permanent place of worship and, as members of the local Muslim network are ageing, they cannot go beyond the Arabic-speaking mosques in the Sydney metropolitan area. ” the assignment team replied.
“The Arncliffe Mosque is a mosque of Shia Islam and practices other devout ceremonies for the Muslim community. “
Responding to considerations about expanding the capacity of the site, the developers noted that the maximum number of fans indicated in the application would be respected.
“There are no plans to expand the proposal for the mosque,” they wrote.
“All activities of the network will comply with the approval of the plans and the rules of operation of the mosque will be strictly followed. Guests who wish to enter once in their full capacity will not be able to enter or attend prayer. “
Ahead of the August meeting to make plans, Muslim leader Keysar Trad, a close friend of the developers, said the mosque would gain advantages for the community.
“We give those other people a chance and see lovely friendships emerge,” Trad told A Current Affair.
“They need to be stylish citizens as their lives have been and they need to make sure that this mosque will be a center of pride for the entire region. We have never had disorders with the churches on our streets. I don’t know why”we are now provoking riots with the mosques. “
A spokeswoman for the Georges River Council declined to comment and said it would be issued once a resolution was taken.
frank. chung@news. com. au