Hillsong Sung to Tune of $18K

The DA for a $78 million church was withdrawn one day before a decision on its fate by the Central Sydney Planning Committee, and less than a week after a damning report on the proposal by an independent planning assessor.

The council had hired The Wesley Centre on Pitt Street, last Thursday in anticipation of record crowds attending the CSPC meeting and was unable to recover the cost of hiring the venue as cancellation was within 48 hours.

The council also hired the centre for a February forum on the Hillsong DA and that meeting was attended by in excess of 900 people. A council spokesman said Hilisong had paid $98,857.40 in application fees, which included $50,214 in State Government charges.

The independent report by Angelini Planning Services was commissioned by Sydney Council and found the DA breached a number of planning regulations, citing traffic impacts, building height, floorspace ratio and public interest as reasons the DA should be rejected.

The proposal for a 2700-seat auditorium, seven-storey office block and parking for 679 cars on Rothschild Avenue has been bitterly opposed by residents.

Rosebery Residents Action Group spokesman Graeme Grace said it was a relief for residents who had been battling Hillsong for two years.

"While I expected a huge sigh of relief from all in Rosebery, it has turned out to be more of a celebration - thank you to everyone who has phoned, emailed or knocked on my door with congratulations," he said.

"We all deserve congratulations for pulling together as a community."

Mr Grace said the residents group would be watching Hillsong's next move closely. Hilisong general manager George Aghajanian said the organisation disagreed with the report's findings and would re-evaluate its options. "We believe we have a strong case in defending our application and we will continue discussions with council about finding a way forward for a church in the Green Square precinct," he said.

Mr Aghajanian did not rule out Hilisong submitting a revised DA for the site.