By Corey Everitt
The council’s rejection of a Sikh Temple on Dore Road has been overturned at VCAT with the tribunal approving it with almost 50 conditions to ensure stability to the contentious proposal.
The proposed Sikh Temple at 195 Dore Road split Cardinia Shire Council in December last year after its approval for a permit, put forward by council officers, was rejected by an alternative motion by councillors.
The fallout saw a rare motion to rescind the council’s decision in the following meeting which was also defeated.
The applicant Sikh Sewaks Australia, then filed the matter in VCAT.
The case was taken on by Senior Member Geoffrey Code who oversaw a hearing spanning four days which heard from four experts appearing for the applicant’s side and the objections of nine responding parties.
The council’s refusal was based on objections regarding its location within Green Wedge and infringements upon neighbouring amenities.
Mr Code declared the proposal acceptable on these issues but instituted 49 conditions on the permit in response to the concerns of objectors.
Balanced between its immediate impacts and what the proposal will provide for the community, Mr Code said it results in a ‘net community benefit’.
“There are a range of policies relevant to the proposal and I should endeavour to balance conflicting objectives in favour of net community benefit and sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations,” Mr Code said.
“I have balanced those objectives and am satisfied that the proposal, if carried out subject to appropriate conditions, will result in a net community benefit.
“The relevant benefits include social and community benefits of a place of worship for a large and growing community in this part of Melbourne.”
The applicant, Swaran Singh of Sikh Sewaks Australia, said they are excited to make this contribution with the community.
“We are truly grateful with the decision of the Tribunal and are excited about the opportunity to work with both Council and the community to make a positive contribution to the immediate area and the surrounding community of Pakenham,” Singh said.
One of the objectors and local to the site, George said the outcome was ‘disappointing’ and that he felt the experts who appeared before the hearing dismissed their concerns.
“The original application wasn’t even discussed during the hearing, the other party made all these changes, so the council’s rejection was never discussed,” he said.
“I didn’t get the impression that it was based on the rural backdrop, they seemed to agree that it was an urban site being built.
“With all these conditions, it just tells me there is something wrong with the plan, who is going to oversee all these policies, the council doesn’t have the staff to do it.”
The application was amended significantly before VCAT, including the site layout which was changed to an ‘L-shaped contemporary, split-level building’.
The attendance limits were changed. Originally, 150 people would be permitted to attend weekly services on Friday and Saturday evenings, and on Sundays.
The approved permit has a limit of 120 people, while the four seasonal holidays which first permitted 400 people to attend were reduced to 300.
The site is 380 metres from the Urban Growth Boundary in Green Wedge, which Mr Code said was ‘not unusual’ for a place of worship but said it ‘will have an impact’ on the rural landscape.
The plan includes a ‘Land Management Plan’ (LMP) which stipulates that 10 percent of the site’s 9 hectares will be developed for the Sikh Temple. The rest of the land will be split into two agricultural lots – one operating as a market garden and the other for horse agistment – and a final lot for conservation.
To ensure this, Mr Code added conditions that the LMP must be approved by the council and include a timeframe for developing all uses of the land and once in place must remain ‘in perpetuity’.
The proposal held a ‘strategic justification’ being near future community infrastructure and it ‘enhances’ the land’s agricultural value from its current significance determined as ‘poor to fair’, according to Mr Code.
The highest point of the building’s roof will only be two metres above the level of Dore Road, combined with its level of landscaping and simple colours, this will make the look less ‘institutional’ upon the rural character.
One neighbouring property sits within 100 metres of the site which requires permission within Green Wedge Policy and Mr Code said the impact on the dwelling was ‘acceptable’ as an acoustic report found noise levels will meet criteria even on one of the four seasonal holidays.
Mr Code directed that a lighting plan be formed to reduce light spill to neighbouring properties.
The proposal includes a 37-space car parking area with a further 54 overflow spaces to be provided. The applicant proposed for the main parking area to be gravel-surfaced, which will also include access for bin collection. Mr Code directed the applicant to have this area sealed.
Dore Road was recently sealed, objectors worried the roadside parking be utilised as overflow. Mr Code said the narrowness of the right side of Dore Road will ‘discourage’ parking.
Conditions also regarded matters of bushfire emergency management, landscaping, tree management and engineering.
