Plans to turn a Lidcombe golf course into Sydney’s next public cemetery is running into strong opposition from local council.
Cumberland City Council’s opposition is growing at a time when the government is under pressure to find more grave sites from religious groups.
Council says it does not want the 45-hectare Carnarvon Golf Course to become a cemetery, and say the region is already home to Rookwood, the largest cemetery in the southern hemisphere.
But the Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP), and government, say that Rookwood, and Sydney, will run out of grave space in two years (see response below).
(The MMP is one of two Crown cemetery operators in Sydney, overseeing about 400 hectares of grave space on Crown land.)
“We deserve to retain our green spaces,” says Cumberland City Mayor Ola Hamed.
“We know that once the green space is gone, it is gone forever. My residents don’t deserve the threat of losing more trees and community space in our area.”
She also queried why their region was targeted for this development.
“Western Sydney is already doing the heavy lifting in a number of areas including housing,” she says.
“Why aren’t alternative sites being considered, including Strathfield and other sites in Sydney’s east?”
In February and in July, council voted unanimously to fight to protect the site.
“Two months ago, we were told a number of sites were considered in Sydney. My councillors and I stand united in our unwavering opposition,” she says.
She says they want Macquarie Street not to consider the golf course as a potential expansion site, do more to protect urban open space and for the MMP to assess other sites beyond a 30-minute radius of Sydney’s inner suburbs.
The council has uploaded a petition on its website and social media channels, calling for action to protect Carnarvon.
- The council is also encouraging residents to attend a rally organised by MP for Auburn Lynda Voltz at Coleman Park this Sunday (August 31) at 12:30pm.
- In an update on the golf course’s website, president Peter Richardson says the government wants to convert the site after their lease runs out in 2025.
CEMETERY EXPANSION NEEDED: MMP
But the Metropolitan Memorial Parks says the course is their choice after a survey of 1000 potential sites, and argues that more burial space is needed.
In a statement on August 8, the MPP said that burial spaces in Sydney will run out by 2027, with religious faiths to be affected up to a year earlier.
It identified which Sydney cemeteries will run out of space with Gore Hill already closed for burial.
The cemeteries are: Macquarie Park by June 2027, Rookwood by August 2027, Field of Mars by May 2028, Woronora by October 2028, Sandgate by March 2031, Frenchs Forest by January 2031 and Eastern Suburbs by November 2032.
MMP CEO Denise Ora says the need for burial space is becoming more urgent.
“This issue has significant impacts across communities, faith groups and the secular community. We know the importance for people to remain connected to loved ones who have passed.”
MMP chairman Ken Morrison says: “Six of Sydney’s historic cemeteries will begin to exhaust from 2031 and be completely full in the decade after that with some faith groups running out of space in less than two years.
“A new Crown cemetery has not been built in the heart of Sydney in more than 80 years despite significant population growth. We urgently need to find solutions to service the community…”
A joint statement from Islamic, Jewish and Orthodox leaders called for action to be taken.
“Sydney is fast running out of burial space – for many faith and cultural communities, the situation is becoming critical,” they said.
“In some areas, communities have only a few years left before all existing plots are gone. For Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox Christian and other culturally-bound burial traditions, there is no alternative to in-ground burial – the clock is ticking. We cannot delay action.”
A two-month community consultation has begun after which the MMP will report back to government. Residents can click here to have their say.
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