Council
1 December, 2025
No plan to close Douglas Park Drive: Gould
Wollondilly Shire Council has no plans to permanently close Douglas Park Drive according to mayor Matt Gould – but a fix is still a long way off or maybe impossible.
Wollondilly Shire Council has no plans to permanently close Douglas Park Drive according to mayor Matt Gould – but a fix is still a long way off or maybe impossible.
Cr Gould took to social media last week to reassure Wollondilly residents that a full closure of Douglas Park Drive was not on the cards.
“I want to be absolutely clear,” Cr Gould said.
“Whilst there are significant issues with Douglas Park Drive through the Gorge and we will need to find grants or additional funding to do the work that is needed, council is not planning to permanently close Douglas Park Drive.
“Every piece of work that council is doing right now is aimed at keeping it open and delivering the major repairs that the Gorge section badly needs”.
Cr Gould said the preferred option was to repair the road to allow a single lane of traffic though the Gorge with permanent traffic lights.
However deputy mayor Cr Matthew Deeth said if council was unable to find the money there was a “distinct possibility” the road would be closed and a closure would have a significant impact on people’s lives.
He said the road was unsafe and needed to be fixed but there was no point ‘sugarcoating’ the issue given council didn’t have the money to undertake the works.
Residents recently held a meeting at the Douglas Park Takeaway and later issued a statement saying that permanent closure was the most likely outcome and have urged members of the community, business owners and users of Douglas Park Drive to join their campaign and ‘oppose the close’.
They believe council has no funds allocated towards the project – although Mayor Gould has stated publicly that council has $4 million allocated towards the project over the next four years and is actively pursuing grant opportunities.
They have welcomed the support of Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan who has vowed to back their campaign to keep the road open.
Cr Gould said Douglas Park Drive was originally built for horse and cart, long before the traffic volumes of today were ever imagined.
“The road is hemmed in by steep cliffs, it has heritage drystone retaining walls and the terrain has always been geotechnically challenging.”
Cr Gould said council had been managing these technical challenges in recent years but geotechnical studies had revealed the problems to be “more significant and complex than was originally expected”.
He said council had explored a number of options with some of them carrying a price tag of up to $96 million dollars.
He said the preferred option – and probably the only realistic option – was a controlled one-lane configuration with major slope remediation and stabilisation at an estimated cost of $11 million.
“This option would reinforce the unstable slopes, protect the heritage walls as much as possible, repair the narrow and damaged sections and keep the road functioning safely well into the future,” Cr Gould said.
However Cr Gould said council would need to secure at least half of the funds required to undertake the works from the state or federal governments “or some other funding source”.
He said council had already committed $4 million over the next four years towards the project and was actively pursuing grant opportunities.
He said the current arrangement would remain viable as long as the road wasn’t used by heavy vehicles or unless there was another heavy rainfall event.
Council has written to residents advising them that drop-in information sessions will be held at the Douglas Park Sportsground between 3.30pm and 5.30pm on Thursday, December 4 and between 5pm and 7pm on Monday, December 8.
Council says in the letter that it is keen to ‘connect’ with residents before the matter is formally discussed early next year (2026).
Council’s Director Shire Futures Martin Cooper has acknowledged in a letter to Mrs Hanan that the $11 million single lane option “is beyond council’s ability to pursue in the short term” and has asked for her on-going support to secure additional funding.
He said council had already raised the matter with NSW Minister for Roads and Minister for Regional Transport Jenny Atchison but would appreciate Ms Hannan’s “continued advocacy at the state level”.
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