Although those concerned were not opposed to Hillsong Church
constructing a facility within South Sydney,
the Rosebery Residents Action Group is against the construction of an
entertainment-centre-sized building in their “backyard”.
The suggested site is situated in the middle of a
residential area, with all points of access being via two lane streets. The
RRAG argues that the church will be too large for the suburb to handle.
The proposed place of worship will be in operation seven
days a week, and open between the hours 7am to 10pm. As well as Sunday
services, there will be additional Bible studies, corporate events and other
functions. As a result, residents claim that they will not only lose access to
their town on weekends, but also throughout the week.
The Development Application is for a regional-sized
structure, able to hold up to 2700 patrons, reduced from 3300, plus staff, with
up to 680 car spaces.
Spokesman for the RRAG, Graeme Grace, said that the size of
the facility would lead to a massive increase in the amount of traffic in the
area. “The public transport along Botany
Road and Rothschild
Avenue is inadequate currently,” Mr. Grace said.
“It cannot accommodate the extra trips and this will encourage commuters to use
cars.”
Grace also remarked that the amount of cars using the
facility would lead to an overflow into surrounding residential streets. The
proposed amount of car spaces has been reduced, to ease the amount of traffic
flowing into the centre.
Mr Grace and protest organiser, Wayne Moody, chose to give
the petition to the local State Member, Ms Keneally, in the hope that it would
lead to a majority vote in the Central
Sydney Planning Committee, in favour of the RRAG.
Unfortunately for the Rosebery residents, the seven-member CSPC contains only
two State Members. The other five seats are made up of two non-government,
State-appointed representatives and three Sydney City Council members,
including the Chairperson Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore
has said she would raise the concerns of the Rosebery residents with the City
of Sydney Planner
responsible for the DA, Philip Jamieson. Ms Moore also expressed concerns over
the residents’ loss of amenity and the negative effects on the heritage characteristics
of Rosebery.
The Hillsong
Church has taken notice
of the residents’ concerns and has already made several changes to the original
plans. As well as the reductions in seating and parking, the public park was
offered as a sweetener to the deal. The parkland was not donated to Council and
remained in the hands of the Church. The park had originally been designed to
lead up to the doors of the centre, but the two have now been divided by a road
and landscaping.
The Hillsong
Church has not, as yet, considered
any alternative locations for the Centre, as there are no other sites adequate
in size to accommodate the proposed facility. It is its belief that that the
centre will enhance the community “feel” of Rosebery, with the addition of the
park, child-care facilities and a café.
Photo: Kristina Keneally
meets Rosebery residents Photo: Ali Blogg
Source:
South Sydney Herald February 2008 – www.southsydneyherald.com.au