Blacktown City Council is providing much needed burial space amid a Sydney-wide shortage by refurbishing a heritage-listed church and cemetery to serve people of all faiths.
St Bartholomew's Church and Cemetery at Prospect is providing expanded burial, cremation and funeral services as part of bigger plans to meet long term community needs.
Council's vision will expand the site, formerly owned by the Anglican Church, and relieve pressure on the state government to find more land.
The first stage of works provided the first new interment sites at the venue since 1972. This comprised 1400 burial plots and wall niches. Accessibility improvements, an internal road and parking spaces were also provided.
Council has masterplan approval for a second stage which would extend the cemetery across 7 hectares of land to the east.
This would be a longer term project that would provide at least 6,000 burial plots.
Further community consultation will be carried out before any work begins. A timeframe for this stage is still to be determined.
Blacktown City Mayor Brad Bunting said Council was stepping up to address an infrastructure challenge that affected many Sydneysiders.
"Blacktown City Council is doing the heavy lifting to address another of Sydney's infrastructure challenges.
"People mourning a loved one shouldn't be burdened with the challenge of finding a suitable venue.
"We want to ensure people have a place to honour loved ones with dignity and respect."
In 2021, a review of cemeteries and crematoria commissioned by the NSW Government warned Sydney was running out of burial space.
The recommendations included consolidating the Crown sector, strengthening the industry regulator and acquiring more land.
