Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council has abandoned plans for a new memorial park near Googong. Photo: Supplied.
A regional council is expected to consider sites between two towns for a new cemetery, after abandoning plans for a previously chosen site.
At a meeting earlier this month, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) voted unanimously to abandon plans for a cemetery and memorial park, which was set to be located south of Googong.
QPRC Mayor Kenrick Winchester told Region that while work on a new memorial park would continue, it would take time to identify a new site.
He said the new location would ideally be located between Queanbeyan and Bungendore.
“We haven’t decided on what the process would be, but I suspect that we’ll call for expressions of interest from landowners who do live, hopefully adjacent to the Kings Highway between Queanbeyan and Bungendore – it’s important that public transport can easily get to the site as well.”
Planning for a new cemetery had started before the current Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council amalgamated. In 2009, the then-Queanbeyan City Council started planning for a new memorial park, and council eventually purchased land at the intersection of Old Cooma and Burra roads in 2017.
The land has since been rezoned to allow for the cemetery’s construction.
The alternative site would also need to fit key requirements, such as being accessible by public transport.
“The main part, obviously, is that it’s got to have parts where you’re actually able to do the burial. It’s got to have the soil [where there is] the ability to go down 10 feet for burials,” he said.
“It obviously can’t be in a floodway and that sort of thing … the main thing now is location to start with, and then undertaking the surveys and the work to see – if the landowners have put their hand up – if their land is suitable or not.”
Nearby residents had raised concerns with the initial proposal, saying the area was a floodplain.
“It turned out that they’re correct. What they were telling us back then is exactly the reason why we can’t proceed with it,” he said.
A report presented to the council’s recent meeting found groundwater throughout much of the site (including near the surface in some areas), and would necessitate works to fix the issue.
Guidelines state that groundwater should be at or below three metres below ground level in cemeteries.
Mr Winchester said it was the most recent report that sunk the Old Cooma Road site, as it revealed past measurements had underestimated the situation.
“A lot of the surveys and [the reports] that were done a few years ago were during a relatively dry period. It’s been a lot wetter over the last couple of years.
“The most recent survey … [identified] what needs to be done to overcome the groundwater.
“It was $7.5 million [the estimated cost of the works], and only [results in] three hectares available, so it just wasn’t worth pursuing any further.”
In the recent council meeting, councillors unanimously approved a motion that, in part, called on council to prepare a report on short-term options for internments in the Queanbeyan region.
He said estimates suggested there was a five-year period until the Queanbeyan cemetery was full, while Bungendore was expected to reach capacity in the next 10 to 20 years.
“The pressure is on to identify a new site, acquire it, get everything going [by then] so that people from Queanbeyan are able to be buried in their hometown,” he said.
“If we had a situation where Queanbeyan locals had to be buried in Canberra or Bungendore or elsewhere, that’s just not acceptable,” he said.
Steve Whan says there is growth in the Googong area that is driving the need for a new cemetery. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Member for Monaro Steve Whan also flagged supporting the search for a new home for the cemetery.
“[If] they need help from the State Government, or help with Crown land, I’m sure that we’ll be very happy to talk to them,” he said.
Mr Winchester said that working with the State Government was a possibility.
“We’ll take all the help we can get … We have a great working relationship with Steve, and if there’s any help that they can be, I know that Steve and I can work together to make it happen,” he said.
