"[T]he government is now investigating alternative sites for the mosque and will continue to work with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in order to identify an appropriate location."
Source/Credit: The Canberra Times
By Matthew Raggatt | June 20, 2015
Canberra's Muslim community has had its hopes for a new mosque at Hume dashed after the ACT government advised against the site it raised as an option in January.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association had agreed to the larger "industrial area" site in January to avoid antagonising traders in Rivett, where the government had first offered the group land.
Association president Mohammad Hasan said the government changed its mind in February on the Hume site, to be within the suburb's new subdivided area near the Monaro Highway.
He said the growing community was now being promised help to find a third site.
"The Land Development Agency said the Economic Development Directorate is not giving permission for a mosque to be built in that [Hume] area, because it might have an impact on other users," Mr Hasan said.
"We liked the site very much, it was close to the road, it would have been exposed to many people."
Mr Hasan said a third site was raised which the government said also "had some issues," but there had been no update on progress in the months since.
The 100-strong Muslim community, which meets at Civic's Griffin Centre, operated "with great difficulty", particularly when visitors arrived, he said.
"[On Tuesday] we had about 60 guests from Sydney and interstate and we had to hire a bigger hall to have dinner with them.
"Each time we have a function like that we have to have a bigger estate - moving our things back and forward, it's a big hassle."
Economic Development Directorate deputy director general Dan Stewart said the Hume site suggested by directorate staff had been found to be unsuitable.
"After further advice from the Environment and Planning Directorate and the Environment Protection Authority, it became clear that a development application for a mosque on this site would likely be unsuccessful," he said.
"As a result, the government is now investigating alternative sites for the mosque and will continue to work with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in order to identify an appropriate location."
The ACT's second mosque, to be built at Gungahlin, was given government approval in 2012 but has been held up by repeated court challenges by the Concerned Citizens of Canberra group, who had their application dismissed in the Supreme Court in July last year.
The matter continues in the Court of Appeal.
Read original post here: Australia: Canberra mosque site blocked by government
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