Centennial Coal plans to reopen the Angus Place Colliery, that has been mothballed since 2015. The mine is located in the upper Coxs River valley 20 minutes north of Lithgow. In August 2021 Centennial submitted a Scoping Report to the Planning Department for its Angus Place West proposal. The company plans to extract up to 8.5 millions tonnes of coal at a rate of up to 2 million tonnes a year till 2040.

The reserve’s plan of management must be amended as it currently drives commercial tourism growth, instead of conservation and presentation of the heritage values that ensures quality sustainable tourism. Placing adventure tourism facilities in the middle of the Lost City view wrecks Lithgow’s best scenic asset and illustrates perfectly what’s wrong with the management plan.

The Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area must establish effective recreation management that:

Road access to the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area is being reconstructed from a previously ruinous state. 

Until officially opened, it’s best not to visit the reserve on your own. It’s easy to get into trouble on the reserve’s myriad of rough access tracks in the reserve and off-track navigation is difficult. So please be patient while this new reserve is put in place.

The Gardens of Stone area is more than just an iconic pagoda-studded landscape, it encompasses forested montane sand dunes, high altitude peat swamps, slot canyons, caverns, slot canyons, waterfalls, gorges and arches. It supports 1000 plant species, 33 vegetation communities, 319 vertebrate animal species, 42 threatened animals and 42 threatened plants.

The Gardens of Stone Alliance are a collection of conservation groups who developed the reserve proposal and Destination Pagoda - its people in nature vision . Become a supporter, please fill in the webform 
 

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Lithgow’s Gardens of Stone backyard is as diverse and unique as it is beautiful.

Protected in a wonderful 28,332ha State Conservation Area, its pagoda landscapes support a vast array of rare plant and animal life. The new reserve protects the core of the Gardens of Stone and more than doubles the protected area in the Gardens of Stone region.

Only two hours drive from Sydney, the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area offers many family adventures from picnicking and sightseeing to day walks, camping, nature study, exploring industrial ruins, bird-watching, bicycling, photography, drawing and painting. The Visitors Map is full of suggested walks and trips.