Making space at Scarborough Wombarra Cemetery

The Scarborough Wombarra Cemetery. Picture: Wollongong City Council

WHILE the Scarborough Wombarra Cemetery is at capacity for burials, Wollongong City Council is looking at providing over 500 additional spaces for memorial ash placements.

The Council is planning maintenance and upgrade works at the picturesque-seaside cemetery to allow improved accessibility and provide ash placement opportunities, new spaces for storing urns, paths, seats and landscaping.

The proposed work will include the development of new ash or columbarium wall, minor construction work, new footpaths, planting trees and vegetation, and landscaping of about 120sqm located at the south eastern part of the cemetery. The design of the new ash walls will allow for 560 new interments.

A Council spokesperson said before work can start an Environment Impact Statement (EIS) needs to be created that provides information on the project’s potential environmental impacts and how these will be controlled.

As part of this process, Council has invited residents and property owners in the area to share their knowledge about the area’s natural environment and heritage. The exhibition period has now closed for public submissions.

Meanwhile Wollongong City Council has approved $282 million of capital works over the next three financial years.

The Delivery Program 2018-2021 was passed at last night’s Council meeting, with additional funding of $1.1 million to improve sports field lighting.

Better footpaths and cycleways, more trees and improvements to community facilities are some of the other priorities on Council’s ‘to-do list’ over the next few years.

Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor David Brown said: “This is a significant amount of money and people will be able to see this investment in action whether it’s through more trees being planted as part of our Urban Greening Strategy, community programs in Dapto, improvements to the Helensburgh town centre, to landscaping at Fred Finch Park in Berkley.

“What’s particularly exciting is we’ve delivered this without increasing our domestic waste or stormwater management charges, and no rates rise above the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s recommendation.’’

Council received 97 submissions on the draft Delivery Program when it was put on public exhibition earlier this year.

“Council will always be about the daily services like rubbish collection, libraries and swimming pools but we’re also putting in place plans and infrastructure to make sure we’re delivering for our community into the future,’’ Cr Brown said.