Locals fear a massive $209 million 64-metre tall Hindu temple planned for a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne will be fast-tracked by the state government despite their objections.
Indian Hindu group BAPS Sanstha Australia last month applied to build the Maha-Mandir complex in a green wedge zone in Cranbourne South, seven months after withdrawing a previous larger proposal and redesigning the plans.
The new design features a traditional stone temple, which will be 64 metres tall excluding the flagpole, four supporting buildings, almost 1,100 parking spaces, and an indigenous “yarning circle” that planning documents state “provides an opportunity for the merging of cultures”.
The temple will be open from 7am to 8pm daily, and planners estimate it will be visited by up to 2,800 people each weekday, 5,000 on weekend days, and between 9,500 and 10,500 a day during religious festivals, sparking concerns about traffic congestion, noise, and impact on the local environment.
But despite opposition from residents and the City of Casey Council, the new application may be approved anyway as it has been lodged with the state government’s Development Facilitation Program, which allows the planning minister to bypass councils in order to speed up major projects.
City of Casey mayor Michelle Crowther told ABC News that the council had filed an objection due to concerns about usage of green wedge zones, which are supposed to preserve countryside on the city’s outskirts by limiting urban development.
She also highlighted potential issues with the “road network, the removal of vegetation, impacts on local residents including traffic, noise, lighting and visual amenity”.
A spokesman for the Western Port Green Wedge Protection Group, which flagged similar issues with the previous proposal, said the action group was planning to submit its own objection.
“Places of worship are an important part of our community, but large urban facilities should be located where the infrastructure exists to support them,” David Cole said.
“We encourage governments at all levels to work with faith communities to identify appropriately zoned land within the Urban Growth Boundary to meet their growing place-of-worship needs.”
Locals have also spoken out against the temple on social media, with many saying they were worried about traffic, changes to the character of the area, and the impact on local wildlife, such as the endangered Swamp Skink.
“What makes me so angry about this is that the development is allowed to bypass council and go to the planning minister which means we cannot apply to VCAT to object an approval, and I’m sorry to say that it will be approved,” one woman wrote.
“I will see the jolly statues from my back yard. So much for rural amenity and ambience,” another said.
“What ever happened to protecting our endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot? Not important to the developers proposing to build this eyesore, clearly,” said a third.
The Hindu group estimates that construction will take seven years, provide hundreds of jobs, contribute $12.1 million to the Victorian economy per year once built and $19.4 million per year during construction, and attract visitors from across the country.
BAPS also said that “culturally appropriate infrastructure” was needed in the City of Casey, where 6.3% of residents were Hindu at the time of the 2021 Census, and 9.3% had Indian ancestry, compared to 5.3% across Melbourne as a whole.
“Given the high proportion of Hindu religious practitioners in Casey, it is important to create inclusive spaces for religious and cultural expression for these practitioners,” the planning documents state.
“This underscores the importance of targeted interventions to promote multiculturalism, cultural engagement, and cultural connection.
“In the context of Casey’s strong population growth and cultural diversity, it is expected that the BAPS Hindu Mahā-Mandir would support community cohesion and inclusion by providing culturally appropriate religious infrastructure for a growing Hindu community.”
Last year BAPS unveiled a 15-metre tall statue of religious figure Neelkanth Varni at a huge new temple complex in Kemps Creek, Sydney, which was attended by Labor ministers. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese then visited a week later for the festival of Holi.
Submissions are still open on the planning department website.
Header image: The planned temple (BAPS – Peddle Thorpe).
