Wallacia golf course saved after cemetery plans knocked back
A controversial proposal to develop a cemetery on the site of the Wallacia Golf and Country Club has been knocked back.
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The Wallacia golf course has been saved after plans for a cemetery on the site were knocked back.
The controversial proposal to build a cemetery with more than 80,000 burial plots on the site of the Wallacia Golf and Country Club are dead and buried after the ruling from The NSW Independent Planning Commission on Friday.
The Commission directed the Sydney Western City Planning Panel to knock back a development application from the Catholic Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust to develop a multi-denominational memorial park with 88,000 plots, chapel and function centre.
The Commission found the development to be inconsistent with the character of the area and that it would have negative social impacts on the community.
Plans for the $24.5 million development, submitted to Penrith Council in November 2017, were met with public outcry, with some residents fearing the development would turn the village into a “ghost town”.
After considering the community’s views, the commission deemed the plans as not being in the public interest and the site as being unsuitable.
“The (development) … will have a permanent impact on the existing local character of the village of Wallacia and the community’s sense of place,” documents read.
“The proposed scale of the development is too large in the context of the locality being behind the village of Wallacia, and the site is relatively removed from the population base it is proposed to serve and is not easily accessible via public transport.
“The (development) will limit the opportunity for alternate uses of the land, specifically those that are more consistent with the existing character of Wallacia, may that be for recreation or another use.”
According to plans from the trust, the cemetery would have been developed in three stages over 140 years, with the golf course remaining operational at a reduced scale of 13 holes for the first 56 years, before further expansion of the cemetery.
Speaking to the Press in February, the trust’s chief executive Peter O’Meara said the first stage of the development would incorporate a clubhouse refurbishment, expanded parking and landscaping.
Future stages would see a redesign of the golf course, construction of a small chapel, administration office, roadworks and landscaping.
Mulgoa state Liberal MP Tanya Davies had been vocal in her opposition to the plans, hitting out at an earlier decision by the planning panel to support the development.
“A cemetery that will decimate the only public recreational space in Wallacia is not in the public interest. This cemetery will kill the village of Wallacia,” Ms Davies said in February.
In its application, the trust argued the development was essential in catering for western Sydney’s growing demands for cemetery space.
“The proposal directly relates to a recognised shortage of burial space across metropolitan Sydney,” proposal documents read.
“The current stock of burial plots in the area would be fully absorbed in approximately 31 years.
“With the additional proposed burial plots, stock would be fully absorbed in approximately 102 years (2119), allowing for an additional 71 years of supply.”
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