Council delays mosque vote

By Alison Noonan
CASEY councillors have stunned residents by entertaining a proposal to build a mosque in Clyde.
At Tuesday night’s Planning Committee meeting councillors resolved to defer their decision to grant an application by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of Australia to develop a place of assembly on Manks Road.
They agreed to first hold an onsite inspection before making a final decision on the controversial proposal.
The move shocked Balla Balla Ward councillor Colin Butler and local residents, who have strongly opposed the plans.
Cr Butler said he was surprised councillors opted to vote against council officers’ recommendations to reject the application, claiming a mosque was totally inappropriate for the rural area and Green Wedge Zone.
“The decision has been put off for a fortnight because some councillors think we should look and see where the mosque will actually be constructed,” he said.
“I thought we were pretty right. I didn’t think the councillors would support the application, considering it is in breach of many of council’s planning controls.
“I bet none of the councillors go down there anyway,” he said.
Manks Road resident Helen LaFontaine said council should not be supporting a development that was “very much against local residents’ needs.”
“It doesn’t meet with policy guidelines.
“A development in a rural area should accommodate at least some of the locals but this doesn’t,” she said.
However, Strathard Ward councillor Lorraine Wreford said it was only fair to the applicants that council investigate the issue further, stating there was too much at stake for both parties to rush a decision through.
“It doesn’t matter where someone puts an application in for a church. There are always huge objections.
“This particular group is trying to be considerate of the community by locating to a rural property and would probably be less disruptive than the chicken farm next door.
“They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” she said.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Melbourne Branch President Javed Choudhary said in a report presented to council that 60 per cent of its members resided in Casey.
Therefore it was logical for the community to look for a place of worship in the municipality, he said.
Mr Choudhary claimed the worship activities would create minimal noise and disruption to traffic and said the appearance of the building would be designed to blend in with the surrounding environment.
“A welldesigned house of worship with beautifully landscaped gardens would enhance the value of the surrounding area,” he said.