Proposed Cemetery in the Green Wedge at Heatherton

Proposed Cemetery in the Green Wedge at Heatherton

The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (the Trust) has a proposal for a 130 hectare cemetery in the Green Wedge at Heatherton.  Unfortunately, the proposal will result in the conversion of most of the best market garden land in the City of Kingston.

The plans came to light  in a glossy brochure released last September but since then the Trust has remained tight lipped about their plans and refused to make any information available about the details of the proposal.  This has created enormous uncertainty in the community and the affected landowners.

To try and flush out more information about the proposal, the Defenders of the South East Green Wedge lodged a Freedom of Information Request with the Trust asking for a copy of its Feasibility Study and Business Case.  The Trust refused the request because they say the documents are exempt.

As the Trust has the power of compulsory acquisition, there is a strong possibility that they will exercise this option in order to bypass the normal planning process with its provision for public participation.

Defenders of the South East Green Wedge is not against cemeteries in the Green Wedge but considers this is a most inappropriate location because of the loss of valuable, irreplaceable market gardening land when there are many far more suitable sites available.

A copy of the Brochure prepared by the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and an aerial photo of the area for the proposal are attached.