‘Environmentally friendly’ crematorium, cemetery and cafe to neighbour New Chum landfill site
An ‘Eternity Eco-Memorial Garden,’ including an eco-friendly crematorium, cemetery, cafe and picnic area, is in the works down the road from an Ipswich landfill site infamous for its stench.
Ipswich
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A newly proposed eco-memorial garden will offer Ipswich residents a chance to have a barbecue and picnic at the cemetery — while clean-up continues at the infamous landfill site next door.
LSD Services Pty Ltd submitted a development application on January 3, 2023, for a new cemetery in New Chum, Ipswich.
The proposed development consists of a memorial garden, including a “beautifully landscaped cemetery”, ancillary chapel, cafe, and walking trails, along with barbecue and picnic areas.
In addition, the development promises an industrial outdoor storage area, which would include an “environmentally friendly” water crematorium facility — which the application notes would be the only one of its kind in Queensland.
The planning report, prepared by Mewing Planning Consultants, said the project’s vision was to create a “technological and ecologically diverse” memorial garden that would be “a place of peace, serenity and remembrance” and have the appearance of a community parkland.
The report said the proposal would provide approximately 100,000 burial sites, facilitating the region’s projected population growth and alleviating resulting pressures on alternative burial sites.
The proposed location is a 45 hectare vacant site at 92 Chum Street – just down the road from Cleanaway’s landfill site at 100 Chum St.
The Cleanaway site has been the subject of criticism for its “offensive odours”, and has been forced to temporarily close to address the public’s concerns.
The planning report for the proposed memorial gardens addresses its proximity to the Cleanaway site, noting the development site is “strategically located between a number of major landfill and waste recovery facilities to the south and transitioning into existing and planned residential areas to the northeast”.
“The nature-based design of the memorial garden (involving the retention and rehabilitation of vegetation) will act as a buffer between the more intense industrial activities to the south (Cleanaway New Chum Solid Waste Landfill) and planned/existing residential areas in the nearby Riverview suburb.”
The development application places emphasis on minimising any negative ecological impacts by retaining existing vegetation where possible and conducting minimal earthworks at the site, which it notes is “unsuitable for industrial activities as a result of historic mining activities”.
The site is mapped as including core koala habitat which the application said the development would not only maintain, but enhance with the planting of new flora.
An ecological report prepared by 28 South Environmental Pty Ltd said the proposed development would “greatly contribute to increased biodiversity and ecosystems within the local area”.
“Given the highly degraded condition of the Site, it is considered unlikely that the proposed development layout will give rise to an impact to any conservation-significant vegetation communities, flora and fauna species.”
The application is currently in the confirmation period, and awaiting council approval.
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