By GEORGIA WESTGARTH and LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE site of a proposed mosque in Narre Warren North has been targeted by arsonists.
The vacant land at 365-367 Belgrave-Hallam Road, was set alight at around 3.16am on Friday 4 March.
The grass fire, that extended about 25 metres, was swiftly put out by the CFA.
It is not yet known if the fire bugs were racially motivated and the investigation is ongoing.
However Detective Senior Sergeant Rob Clark from Casey CIU said, “signs erected notifying the proposed place of worship were taken down and thrown in the fire”.
“It is of concern to us and police will be patrolling the area as part of a prevention strategy,” he said.
The fire comes as a Facebook page dedicated to stopping the mosque at the same location reached more than 8000 likes in less than two weeks.
A planning application, which includes plans for a school and “place of worship” at 365-367 Belgrave-Hallam Road is currently being considered by Casey Council.
The application was submitted by the Saarban Islamic Trust.
Det Sen Sgt Clark declined to comment on the possibility of a link between the page and grass fire, but said, “we will look at all avenues in the investigation, including social media.”
The ‘Stop the Mosque in Narre Warren’ Facebook page is calling on people to sign a petition objecting to the mosque and the council is taking submissions on the issue until 11 March.
But on Tuesday Cr Rafal Kaplon said legislation indicates that council must “accept and consider all objections provided to them before they make a decision on a planning permit application”.
“That means local councils will continue to receive and consider all objections until the planning application comes before the council or its planning committee, even after the advertising period of a Notice for a Planning Application is finished,” he said.
Casey planning manager Duncan Turner previously told Star News the matter would be considered at a future meeting of the council before “mid-2016”.
“Council considers all planning applications upon their own planning merits and as such it is not appropriate to make comment on the Facebook page,” he said.
The Saarban Islamic Trust was contacted for comment.
Police are appealing for anyone with information regarding the grass fire to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
