Community Centre & Place of Worship (Mosque)

The site is situated within the Industrial Zone and the entire site is subject an Amenity Protection Overlay. The two lots have a combined land area of 3036m². The site is located on the southern side of Bandon Street approximately 70 metres to the west of the intersection between Greenwood Street and Bandon Street. At present Bandon Street is classified as a local road and Greenwood Street is classified as Major Arterial Road. The site has a site frontage of approximately 39 metres on Bandon Street.

The rectangular shape of the site is almost exactly North/South in direction, making it simple to place the mosque facing exactly toward Mecca, a vital feature for the Muslim faith.

There is urgent need for a larger Mosque to service the needs of the Muslim population in Hamilton.  The only mosque the Muslim community has available to them currently, is the Mosque on the comer of Boundary Road and Heaphy Terrace.  There is no room for any further expansion at the Boundary Road site.  This site has become too small to accommodate the number of people who are wishing to attend.  The number of people of the Muslim faith has increased considerably in Hamilton, putting pressure on the site.

The Muslim community expects further increase in their congregation. The Muslim Community now feels ready to construct a traditional Mosque, rather than use a building that has been converted for use as one.

The building they wish to construct is designed after the traditional style of Mosques. Mosques have very particular architectural features that identify it for what it is.  The most obvious of these are the domes and minarets, which are well known features of some of the worlds most well known buildings.

This Mosque will be the largest Mosque in the country when it is finished. It is expected this building will become a Hamilton landmark.

The Applicant’s expectation is that activities at the centre will normally involve:

• The Community Centre will consist of a double story cubed shape building that is approximately 27 metres long, 20.5 metres wide and extends to a maximum height of 9.8 meters.  The upper story will have a gross floor area of 376m² and the ground floor will have a gross floor area of 524m². The building will subsequently have a total area of 900m² (including entries and verandas).
• The Mosque is intended to cater for approximately 200 persons at times of peak attendance.
• In general the Mosque will be open 7 days a week from the hours of 5am until late and will operate on a structured day to day prayer regime which consists of 5 prayer sessions per day between the hours of 5am and 8pm.