Wagga City Council has pulled the brakes on a proposal to build a church meeting hall in Lake Albert following strong opposition from nearby residents.
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The development application submitted by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church seeks permission to build a $250,000 hall on the vacant lot at 53 Gregadoo Road, which would be used for quiet reflection and prayer.
Lake Albert residents have rallied in opposition of the project, claiming the hall would be out of place in the suburb and that its early hours of operation would disrupt sleeping neighbours.
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Nearby residents Andrew Behan, Glen White, Peter Hurst and Adrian Pearce each addressed the city's councillors when the application was put before council on Monday.
They argued the small size of the meeting hall, as well as its accompanying carpark, would make it "entirely out of character" for the area and disrupt the streetscape.
The proposed hours of worship for the meeting hall are between 6am and 7am on Sunday and between 6pm and 7pm on Monday.
Residents believe the church members arriving in vehicles to the early morning session will be "massively" disrupting to neighbouring residents as they try to sleep.
Local trustee for the church Carl Napier said the early start is "dictated by scripture" and that the church has never received a complaint in the 50 years it has run a meeting hall in Kooringal.
"We're peaceful neighbours and we do not make any noise unnecessarily," Mr Napier said.
"We've done a lot of work to ensure this [meeting hall] fits in and it's somewhat smaller than other properties but we've gone to great lengths to make sure it doesn't stick out in the suburb."
After hearing the arguments from the concerned residents and the applicant, councillors made the call to defer their decision until they could discuss the issue at their next council workshop.
"I think the assessment report and the development application put before us doesn't give us enough information to make an informed decision," Cr Amelia Parkins said.
"Deferring it to a workshop is the most appropriate course of action and then we can look at some the issues raised by the objectors."
The motion to defer the decision was supported by all nine of the city's councillors.
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