Wyndham council has approved plans to renovate and expand the Gurdwara Sikh community facility in Hoppers Crossing, despite 108 objections from residents.
Under the proposal, the three existing buildings at 405-417 Sayers Road will be replaced by three larger buildings that include a prayer hall, dining facilities, a Punjabi school and community spaces.
The facility is intended to be operated daily between 8am and 10pm and accommodate up to 600 people during special events.
At the Tuesday 11 November planning meeting, several residents spoke on the matter, citing concerns that increasing the capacity of the site might make traffic on nearby residential streets worse and increase noise.
However, Cr Preet Singh said the Sikh community has been part of Wyndham for decades and that their generosity is needed in the area.
“Tonight we stand at a crossroads, a moment that calls for clarity, courage and conviction – we are being asked to make a decision that will shape the future of our community,” Cr Singh said.
“Asking them to relocate is not just impractical, it is unjust.”
Cr Shannon McGuire, who said he lives less than 1.5km from the site, said he had to vote against the motion due to traffic concerns on roads such as Sayers Road.
“The road network is already at breaking point and will not be any better as a result of this, I don’t thing any reasonable person would say so–both in the short term and long term,” Cr McGuire said.
“In ten years time, people will be driving down Sayers Road saying ‘who allowed this to happen?”
He received a round of applause from members in the public gallery.
Cr Susan McIntyre also said it was a difficult decision, but the debate was a matter of the feasibility of the development’s scale, not the good work of the Sikh community.
“To me it really comes down to saying is this the right facility of this size and scale in this area, and that is why I won’t be supporting it,” Cr McIntyre said.
Council voted in favour of allowing the expansion, nine votes to two.
