Council's Planning Proposal to include a cemetery/memorial park as a permissible use on land at 1187 and 1241 Old Cooma Road, Googong has been approved by the NSW Government.
This is a step forward in securing a site for a new memorial park to service the Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra, Googong, Royalla, Burra and surrounding communities for the long-term.
"The Queanbeyan Lawn Cemetery is nearing capacity and we have to find a new site to provide for the future," Mayor Tim Overall said.
"As part of the approval process with the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, we have conducted a number of studies on the property on Old Cooma Road, including flora and fauna, traffic, visual amenity, Aboriginal due diligence and heritage, geotechnical, and an extensive hydrology investigation over more than twelve months across 2019 and early 2020. These studies have all indicated the site will be suitable for a memorial park."
The gazetting of the planning proposal means that development for the purposes of cemeteries is permitted with consent on this land. Council will now develop concept site designs and landscape plans. These will be placed on public exhibition and the community will have an opportunity to provide feedback.
Following public exhibition of the concept designs, Council intends to lodge a development application for the Memorial Park in 2022. The development application will be assessed by the Southern Regional Planning Panel. The community will also be able to make comment on the development application during the notification period.
