Hindu group finds new Lara home

A HINDU denomination is set to expand into Geelong after a planned temple at Lara received a council green light.

The City of Greater Geelong’s planning committee last month approved a project from volunteer-based faith organisation BAPS to build a mandir at Geelong, which would provide a new place of practice and celebration for the local Hindu community.

BAPS has an existing Shri Swaminarayn Mandir at Mill Park, in Melbourne’s outer north, and is set to bring a new place of worship for Geelong.

The proposal would build a 600-square-metre hall with a wraparound verandah and host gatherings of up to 60 people for weekend dinners.

It would also host a Diwali festival around October each year and have weekday prayer services for up to 10 people.

BAPS Australia trustee Sitesh Bonjani said the organisation and its faith had a mantra of social service and unity among people, which would benefit local worshippers and the broader community.

“For local congregation members, visiting the peaceful grounds of the mandir and seeing its traditional architecture begins the transition of leaving behind the worldly worries and stresses and focus on one’s relationship with God,” Mr Bhojani said.

“It is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect local BAPS congregation members to travel from Geelong to Mill Park for this daily, 10-to-15-minute experience of their faith.

“The health, wellbeing and lives of local congregation members will be enhanced by having a mandir in Geelong, and the broader Geelong community will enhance its vibrant, harmonious multicultural character.”

The committee decision overturned a council recommendation to refuse a permit, after it complained of an administrative burden from a lengthy list of conditions and received one community objection.

A single objector suggested the temple was better suited to an urban location and raised concerns about late operating hours, crowds and traffic.

Council officers raised concerns about the temple’s location in a rural living zone, and indicated the proposed use was at odds with the area’s character.

But councillors disagreed, pointing out that the area had been earmarked for a zone change under future growth plans and deciding the temple to be a net benefit for the Lara community.

Councillors also noted that a Buddhist temple and monastery comfortably co-existed with the community just one block away.