St Paul’s Anglican Church in Carlingford is one step closer to getting the green light to construct a new two-storey ministry centre.
A Development Application (DA) lodged with City of Parramatta will see the demolition of the existing single storey administration building at St Paul’s Anglican Church, construction and use of a two-storey ministry centre, along with associated signage and landscaping works, if approved by the Local Planning Panel.
The Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) said the proposal aims to provide for the current and future ministry needs of St Paul’s.
“A ministry centre (MC) comprising two storeys is proposed to be constructed generally in the location of the existing administration building,” it said.
“The MC will provide administration and multi-purpose spaces, which will support the operations and community functions of the church, [it] will operate in conjunction with the recently completed main church hall.”
However, Carlingford residents have voiced their fears in a recent Local Planning Panel that the new ministry centre will result in an increase of church attendees parking on the surrounding streets.
“In the application they say they are going to discourage parking in Trigg Avenue, what I would like to know is how they plan to do that,” local John Deller said.
“If it’s just a suggestion, well I don’t think that would work, but if it’s in the form of locked gates or doors… that’s what I would like clarified.”
The site of the ministry centre is on a corner allotment, with primary street frontage to Trigg Avenue, Vickery Avenue and Moseley Street, which provides access to the car park.
Town Planner Thomas West from Don Fox Planning said a sign will be placed by the church to discourage visitors from parking on Trigg Avenue.
“The church will also look to add in their bulletin and presentation slides weekly to note that parking is discouraged along Trigg Avenue,” he said.
The ministry centre will be used for a range of activities, including church management, ministry work and Sunday school services.
The ground floor of the ministry centre will provide 13 enclosed offices, an open plan office space, a separate meeting room, boardroom, two seminar rooms and a utilities room.
It is anticipated that up to 25 administrative and support staff would be accommodated on the ground floor level.
The result of the DA had not been confirmed prior to deadline.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.