As Canberra's southern population grows, the ACT government is rolling out options to house the living - and the dead.
A development application has been submitted for the first stage of a much-anticipated cemetery in Tuggeranong.
Southern Memorial Park will be constructed on blocks 1678 and 1695 on Long Gully Road and Mugga Lane.
The area was first pencilled in as a location for Canberra's third cemetery in 2008, but plans were put on hold for over a decade.
It then became a site of controversy after cabinet documents revealed the ACT government had been urged to subdivide the site.
But as Woden cemetery began to fill, another option was still needed.
In 2021, early plans for the cemetery were released to the public.
The cemetery will be built in four stages over the next 100 years to accommodate for projected population patterns in southern Canberra.
Once completed, the first stage is proposed to include more than 15 hectares of burial space, with native lawns, a garden cemetery of 2500 plots, and repositories for ashes.
It will cost roughly $41 million to complete this stage of work over a projected five-year period.
A natural burial area - where environmentally friendly coffins are used - was added to the stage one plans after public demand.
It will include about 120 plots in the western corner of the site.
A nature playground, works area and detailed native landscaping will characterise the first stage of the development.
A crematorium will not be included in the first stage.
Traffic lights, internal roads and some car parking will be part of stage one, but the main car park, memorial halls and an outdoor chapel will be constructed in later stages over the next 50 years.
It is not just the ACT struggling to find place for respectful burials; cemeteries across Australia are running out of room.
This is something the territory government hopes to counteract with gardens and wildlife throughout the Tuggeranong development.
While 163 trees will be removed to make this happen, a further 940 mature native trees will be planted in their place.
The development application is open for public comment until October 17.
An existing horse jumping area and equestrian trail will be directed away from the site.
