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 siteA State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for Douglas Park Memorial Park is now on public exhibition.
The use of the land as a cemetery has already been approved and is not being reconsidered as part of the SSDA process. Development consent for a cemetery at Douglas Park was granted in 2020 by Wollondilly Shire Council, and work has commenced.
The current SSDA is a separate new application that has been prepared as an evolution of the approved cemetery concept, focusing on how the approved cemetery will be delivered over time, including:
The crematorium is not part of the Stage 1 detailed works and will be subject to further assessment before delivery.
Since the original approval, the design has been refined in response to detailed technical studies. These refinements include increased vegetation buffers, retention of more than 95% of existing trees, and improvements to layout, access and landscape design.
The SSDA is on exhibition until 9 June 2026.
Located near the village of Douglas Park and surrounded by natural bushland, Douglas Park Memorial Park is designed as a peaceful, landscaped place for remembrance and reflection. It will provide an inclusive setting for people of all faiths and backgrounds, with the extensive gardens open to the community.
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.
Wollondilly Shire forms part of the South-West Growth Area, where significant new housing, infrastructure and population growth are already planned and underway. In this context, Douglas Park Memorial Park will play an important role in supporting the needs of these growing communities over the long term.
The SSDA includes both a whole-of-site concept plan and the design for Stage 1. It is supported by an Environmental Impact Statement prepared in accordance with the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) issued by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in April 2024.
The Stage 1 component involves the detailed design of approximately 15,000 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 to the public.
The key features of the proposal overall include:
Forward-Thinking was engaged by the Applicant to prepare a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to support the SSDA. An 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 has been 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 SSDA and all supporting documents are on exhibition until 9 June 2026.
We appreciate you may have questions about the Douglas Park Memorial Park
Go to the FAQs
The cemetery will 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, more than 95% of the existing trees will be retained. This includes a vegetation protection zone around the perimeter of the site that will be 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.