A massive Sikh centre, including a prayer hall and Punjabi school, has been approved for the Melbourne suburb of Hoppers Crossing, despite 108 objections from locals.
Wyndham City Council approved the major redevelopment of the existing Sikh temple at a heated meeting earlier this month after rejecting concerns from residents about traffic, noise and the impact of the $4.5 million proposal on the character of the neighbourhood.
Locals also circulated flyers after the “place of assembly” application was revised in August, saying the proposal was “fundamentally incompatible” with the neighbourhood, and would dominate the streetscape.
The upgraded facility will include an 18 metre-tall golden dome on the middle of three buildings, which in addition to the temple and school will also contain dining and recreation areas, community rooms and counselling spaces, and will accommodate up to 600 people.
A planning application for the expansion of the Gurudwara Hoppers Crossing was filed in 2022, but in October Councillor Preet Singh said he had “called it in” due to its “significant cultural and community importance to both the Sikh and Hindu communities in Wyndham”.
Mr Singh advocated for the centre at the meeting, saying the facility needed an upgrade to serve the area’s rapidly growing population, and it was important that immigrant families had formal community spaces, The Australia Today reported.
“This facility serves a community that has contributed enormously to Wyndham – through volunteering, charity, small business, and frontline work,” he said.
“Supporting multicultural institutions is not optional. It is necessary for a city as diverse as ours.”
But several residents objected to the proposal at the meeting, saying the neighbourhood was already changing away from “quiet low-density living” due to nearby developments, noise was increasing, and traffic was making the streets unsafe for children, Wyndham TV reported.
One neighbour said there had already been security issues at the site, including people jumping fences, while others complained about regular fireworks and light pollution.
One of the two councillors who voted against the proposal, Shannon McGuire, who lives in the same suburb, said he had heard noise from the existing temple from 1.5 kilometres away.
“Firstly, pedestrian safety. Secondly, the road network that is already at breaking point will not be any better as a result of this – I don’t think any reasonable person would say so. In ten years’ time, people will be driving down Sayers Road saying ‘Who allowed this to happen?’” he said to applause from locals.
Councillor Susan McIntrye also voted against the expansion, saying it was a difficult decision because the Sikh community made significant contributions, but that the size and scale of the proposed centre was not appropriate for the area.
Councillors Josh Gilligan, Maria King, Jennie Barrera, Jasmine Hill, Peter Maynard, Robert Szatkowski, Mia Shaw, and Larry Zhao voted in favour, as well as Mr Singh.
Header image: Left, the approved centre (supplied). Right, a flyer objecting to the proposal (Facebook).
