We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live and work. We acknowledge their unique ability to care for Country and deep spiritual connection to it. We honour Elders past, present and emerging whose knowledge and wisdom has and will ensure the continuation of cultures and traditional practices.
Enter siteNear the village of Douglas Park and surrounded by natural beauty, the Douglas Park Memorial Park will provide a sanctuary for the community to enjoy. It will be a place that welcomes all faiths to celebrate and remember loved ones. There will be gardens for the local community to visit at any time for quiet reflection.
Greater Sydney is fast running out of burial space. Research shows that the city’s cemeteries will reach capacity in the next few years. The Douglas Park proposal seeks to redress this urgent need.
The Applicant, local building company, HT Building, is preparing a planning application, called a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to be lodged with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI).
The SSDA is for an overall site concept, called a Concept Plan, as well as detailed design for the first stage of planning for the cemetery, referred to as Stage 1.
In July 2020, HT Building obtained an approval from Wollondilly Shire Local Planning Panel for a concept plan (DA/2018/780/1) for a cemetery on the site comprising about 27,000 burial plots.
HT Building is now seeking to expand the number of burial plots to approximately 58,000, as well as seek approval for detailed works in Stage 1. The area used for burial plots in the new proposal remains generally within the area that was approved as part of the previous DA.
Forward-Thinking has been engaged by HT Building to prepare a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to support the SSDA. A SIA aims to identify, predict, and evaluate likely social impacts and benefits arising from a project and propose responses to the predicted impacts.
This SIA is being prepared in line with the methodology and requirements for a SIA and Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) outlined in the Social Impact Assessment Guideline for State Significant Projects July 2023.
The SIA will be shaped by your views. Please share your thoughts about the proposed Douglas Park Memorial Park proposal by completing this short survey.
The new cemetery would create a memorial park catering to diverse cultures and faiths, enabling the faiths to carry out memorialisation according to their own beliefs.
The project’s biodiversity report shows that the site is home to valuable flora and a variety of local fauna, including arboreal mammals, reptiles and native birds.
To minimise any impacts on biodiversity, a vegetation protection zone around the perimeter of the site will be retained, enhanced and managed to protect high-value flora and the vegetation providing shelter, habitat and foraging for fauna.
The Park’s design will embrace the area’s unique flora and fauna, including:
The infrastructure to support visitors to the Park is being carefully planned. Addressing the traffic and transport impacts are a priority. The main vehicle entry and exit to the memorial Park for visitors and staff will be on Douglas Park Drive. Parking for about 130 cars will be provided. Vehicle access points, internal roadways, and car parking will be designed in accordance with the relevant traffic standards, including Austroads Guidelines, Australian Standards and Council Standards.
Wheelchair accessible pathways will weave through the Park. Shading and seating along the pathways will provide areas for rest and reflection. Lighting and security measures will protect safety.
The Park’s design pays respect to the deep connection to the land of the traditional owners - the Dharawal and neighbouring Gundungurra people. It acknowledges the layers of Country for traditional owners across time, geology, the Cumberland Plain, water and sky.
The Park’s design also honours the area’s namesake, Henry Grattan Douglass, a man of medicine and philosophy, and a leader in his community.
Attend an online information session to learn more about the proposed Douglas Park Memorial Park
Register hereThe Concept Plan includes the layout of the site, as well as an overall plan for a crematorium, chapel, vaults, remembrance sanctuaries, and associated groundworks and infrastructure.
The Stage 1 component involves the detailed design of approximately 26,000 burial plots, as well as a chapel, a caretaker building, associated infrastructure on the southern portion of the site, and an administration building with a café accessible from Mitchell Place.
This proposal seeks to expand the Park to provide approximately 58,000 burial spaces through renewable tenure. This means that people can choose to be rested in the same plot with their loved ones and increases access for the community to burial spaces.
Overall the key features of the proposal include:
Construction of a crematorium is proposed for later stages. Importantly, there will be dedicated consultation aligned with the delivery of later stages.
Please share your thoughts about the proposed Douglas Park Memorial Park proposal
Complete the survey
HT Building has engaged a team of technical consultants to develop the overall site concept, and detailed design for the first stage of the Memorial Park.
HT Building aims to lodge the State Significant Development Application with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in early 2025.
Contingent on planning approvals, construction for stage 1 would commence in mid-2026.