Almost 150 people attended the meeting in Maitland on Tuesday night where they raised concerns about noise, the hours of operation and the impact of at least 200 traffic movements on the site every day.

Tim Peters, who led the meeting, reminded the crowd to “keep it orderly” and frequently mentioned the lack of racial comments being made.

“This is an argument about the suitability of this structure in a rural residential community,” Mr Peters.

“I don’t think a Catholic Church or a Jewish synagogue or a Buddhist ­temple should go there either.”

Most people were from Louth Park. 

About 20 said they lived in the surrounding area.

Planning expert Garry Warnes, who represented Elermore Vale residents in their fight against a proposed mosque in 2011, urged the crowd to stick to the facts in their submission.

“Unfortunately, when we get to emotions they don’t amount to anything . It’s got to be facts,” he said.

“You’ve got to be able to prove that point to council and potentially the Land and Environment court.”

Mr Warnes said the proposal was “out of character with the area” and the site “had a number of constraints”.

He also said the public should be able to see how the building would look inside.

Maitland mayor, Cr Peter Blackmore, also urged residents to “keep the emotion of it” and supported residents’ calls for more time to submit their feedback.

At one stage he was forced to defend himself after a resident took to the floor saying the applicant had donated to Cr Blackmore’s election campaign.

Cr Blackmore said the applicant was his diabetes specialist, and he would not be voting on the matter.

“I was invited to come here to listen to your concerns … Don’t shoot the messenger,” he said.

The plan for the prayer room is on public exhibition until January 8.