Nepean Gardens, Wallacia cemetery: Action group raises concerns over meeting timing

A community action group claims a meeting about a controversial proposal for a new western Sydney cemetery is being rushed through just before the holidays.

The Wallacia Progress Association have accused a planning panel of “pushing through” a public meeting about a controversial cemetery proposal.

The Wallacia Progress Association has accused a planning panel of “pushing through” a public meeting on a controversial cemetery proposal.

The proposal for Nepean Gardens in Wallacia was first floated in 2017, but was knocked back by the NSW Independent Planning Commission in July last year.

The Catholic Metropolitan Cemetery Trust came back with a revised proposal in December, and submitted changes to that proposal in January this year.

The major changes in the DA include halving the physical size of the cemetery, reducing the amount of planned burial plots from 88,000 to 27,000, and keeping nine holes of the existing golf course.

The size of the planned cemetery was also slashed from 44ha to 21ha.

In a statement to the Penrith Press, a spokesperson for the group questioned why the community was only given two weeks’ notice of the meeting on December 18.

“Wallacia Progress Association is most concerned that an email from the (Sydney Western City Planning Panel) dated December 2 was only issued to residents who lodged previous submissions,” the statement said.

“Wallacia Progress Association has grave concerns that this meeting has been pushed through in the festive season.

A Wallacia local protests against the original development application in 2018.

“The community still awaits Penrith City Council’s final report of the changes on the Nepean Gardens DA submitted by the Catholic Cemeteries Board.”

The association remains firmly against any cemetery being set up in the village.

“If this cemetery development gets approved, Wallacia will lose our large open recreational space as we know, as well as our golf course,” the spokesperson said.

“We’ll have a club house shared with wakes, and we’ll lose critically endangered Cumberland Plain woodland habitat and ecosystems, including a large number of trees that are homes for our local native bird population.

The Wallacia Country Club, formally known (and pictured) as Panthers Wallacia, is the subject of a development application to build a cemetery in the western Sydney village.

“The application would limit the opportunity for alternate uses of the land, specifically those that are more consistent with the existing character of Wallacia.

“We encourage everyone in Wallacia to have your say and register to speak.”

In response, the Department of Planning, Industry & Environment told the Press planning panels were independent in their scheduling of meetings, but said the schedules are agreed upon by the panel chair and council, “dependent on when an assessment report is made available to the panel”.

The Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust did not comment other than saying they were “looking forward” to the meeting.

If you would like to be a part of the conference, or just listen in, contact the Sydney Western City Planning Panel by either phone or email by December 16.