Katrina Vella: Southwestern Rural Advertiser | September 24, 2008
A GROUP of residents who live on and around Gurner Avenue in Austral will fight the council over a new proposal for an Islamic school to be built on the street.
The group says it is opposed to the school for numerous reasons, but the main one is that members don’t believe the rural area is appropriate for such a large development.
The proposed school will accommodate 600 primary and high school students and offer a car park, library, hall and sporting fields.
The residents are concerned about additional traffic to the area, maintenance of the school’s water, sewerage and drainage systems, depreciation to the value of existing property around the school and the chance that the school will grow, because the plans suggest it can accommodate more than 600 students.
They are also questioning the need for the school as there are already two Islamic schools in nearby areas, Green Valley Islamic College in Green Valley and Sule College in Prestons.
Robert Paceskoski’s father Ilija lives on the street and the pair are concerned about what the school will mean for the area.
“The biggest problem with this is the infrastructure no one wants it here. The whole community moved out to a rural setting to get away from noise and traffic,” Mr Paceskoski said.
“And we complain all the time to council to fix the roads because they are unsafe.
“The local community can’t cope as it is and they want to bring all these extra people to the community. It’s going to blow everything out of proportion.”
Mr Paceskoski and his father are also concerned that their property will be forced into “lockdown” by the council, because if plans go ahead it will be in the middle of the proposed school and a road.
“It’s council’s responsibility to make sure we don’t get land blocked into a corner. The value of the land will depreciate dramatically,” Mr Paceskoski said.
A public information session was held by Liverpool Council earlier this month to discuss the plans which were lodged in November 2007 and put on public exhibition in April 2008.
About 25 residents attended the information session with the main objection being that people had not been notified about the plan or the information session.
A Liverpool Council spokeswoman said: “An advertisement was placed in the local newspaper, a sign was erected on the site, and all property owners-occupiers within a 500-metre radius were sent letters advising of the proposal.”
Mr Paceskoski said his family would continue their protest.
The application is currently under assessment and will be referred to the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel.
Comment:
Watch the religion of peace cry racist and declare a Jihad on the peaceful residents.
http://creativityalliance.com/residents-oppose-plans-for-islamic-school
