Region. Express train services

Train customers in Western Sydney will benefit from 10 new peak hour express services that started this week. The new 10 services weeks are in addition to the 20 new services added in October.

Liverpool. Research showcase

The Ingham Institute for Medical research will partner with Sydney South West Local Health District for this year's 7th Annual Research and Teaching Showcase event. An important event on the health calendar, this year's event is scheduled for Friday, November 30, 2012, at the Thomas and Rachel Moore Education Centre, Liverpool Hospital.

Liverpool. Research facility opened

Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, yesterday officially opened the $50 million state-of-the-art Ingham Institute of Medical Rresearch, in the Liverpool medical precinct. The institute currently houses 200 scientists with up to 100 to come. The insdtitute is the only such facilitiy in South-West Sydney.

Penrith. Ruth wins top award

Ruth Goldsmith, Penrith City Council’s group manager, leadership, has received one of this year’s six Australian Awards for Public Service Excellence, from the Australia-New Zealand School of Governance (ANZSOG) Institute for Governance “This prestigious award recognises Ruth’s contribution to the understanding and measurement of ‘public value’ in local government across Australia. Public value provides a simple framework that public sector organisations can use to implement excellence and efficiency measures. This concept supports community engagement, and strategic planning and reporting,” said Mayor, Mark Davies.

Parramatta. Renovation work for UNE

Work has commenced on the renovation of the two-storey, heritage-listed building, formerly Parramatta’s first post office and latterly used as a restaurant, at 211-213 Church Street, for use by the University of New England as an information office and café.

Parramatta. Little to improve transport

The Draft NSW Long Term Transport Masterplan offers little to improve transport links to Parramatta except bus improvements within the 20 years life of the plan, according to Parramatta City Council’s submission. “In particular there is a lack of action on north-south links across Parramatta and Western Sydney in general. Western Sydney is predicted to experience massive population growth over the coming decades and already experiences an estimated job deficit. It is clear that the focus remains on Sydney CBD providing employment for Western Sydney.”

Region. Airport links

A regional airport, if located at Badgerys Creek, could be connected by extensions of both the South West and North West Rail Links, connecting the North West and South West Growth Centres as well as the Western Sydney Employment Lands, according to Parramatta City Council’s submission on the Draft NSW Long Term Transport Masterplan

Parramatta. Cross-city bus services

Parramatta City Council requests the state government considers cross-city bus services through Parramatta, in its submission on the Draft NSW Long Term Transport Masterplan. This would not only provide direct transport services for bus passengers to both Westmead and University of Western Sydney but to reduce the increasing pressure of more bus layover space in the Parramatta city centre.

Region. Business parks south of the M4

The Parramatta-based Regional Development Australia-Sydney (RDA-S) recommends that business and technology parks be established south of the M4 to provide white-collar and technology job in Sydney’s west and south west to counter the number providing knowledge-sector jobs in the northern and north-west suburbs. “These [parks south of the M4] are not easy to locate – but there are suitable large-scale land holdings in this region which could lead the conversion to higher density employment lands,” said the RDA-S commissioned, Employment Lands Policy Position, report. RDA-s argues that the definition of “employment lands” should be expanded from manufacturing and industrial uses to include specialised centres and business/technology parks.

Macquarie Park. New phase likely

Macquarie Park, one of Sydney’s largest suburban commercial markets, is poised to enter a new phase of staggered growth underpinned by select precommitted developments, which has the potential to drive down vacancy and help pull up rents, Mathew Lee, senior director, industrial and logistics services, at CBRE, in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Region. 24-hour trading

The Minister for Planning, Brad Hazzard, proposes to permit shops and restaurants to stay open 24 hours a day in the two weeks before Christmas as part of a plan to reinvigorate the state’s retial economy. Under the proposed reforms, restaurants will also receive automatic approval for outdoor dining areas – of up to 20 tables – without having to submit expensive and time-consuming applications with their local councils, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Region. Industrial reform planned

Under proposed planning reforms, the Minister for Planning, Brad Hazzard, will allow factories and warehouses of up 20,000 square metres to be approved within 10 days in the developments are to built on sites already zoned as “industrial”. The Sunday Telegraph reported that mr Hazzard expected this to be increased to up to 90,000 square metres if the changes proved successful.

Penrith. Five rowing events

The Sydney International Rowing Regatta, to be held on March 18-24, 2013, is expected to draw huge crowds to the International Regatta Centre at Penrith. The regatta will include first of next year’s Samsung World Rowing Cup regattas, the Australian Open Championships, the King’s Cup and Queen’s Cup Interstate Regatta and the Australian Open Schools Rowing Championships. The regatta is expected to attract entrants from rowing’s power base in Europe and North America and also the Asia-Pacific region.

Region. Need for separate group

The Western Sydney regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) urges the government to expand its definition of regional Australia to include the outskirts of major cities, such as Western Sydney. With a significant peri-urban agricultural industry and associated food processing and manufacturing jobs in the urban areas – the industry is worth over $1.5 billion to the NSW economy and provides almost 22,000 local jobs in primary production and food processing – Western Sydney should be defined as its own region and have a separate government-funded Regional Development Australia (RDA) to promote its interest and identity.

Region. Infrastructure shortfalls

Blacktown City Council is currently facing a shortfall of $45 million in providing critical infrastructure – roads, guttering, open spaces – in order to support the current land releases in the North West Growth sector, while Liverpool City Council is facing a shortfall of around $30 million for the South West growth sector.

Region. Loss of GRP

With the population of Western Sydney expected to grow to 4 million by 2050 (from a total Sydney population of 7 million), there is an imperative to plan and supply sufficient employment lands in this area of high growth., according to St George Bank. The cost of not doing this is estimated to be as much as $84 billion in GRP by 2036.

Region. Productive farmland

The large areas of farmland in Western Sydney include some of the most productive agricultural land in Australia, according to a WSROC submission to the National Food Plan Green Paper. The agricultural industry, which is comprised mainly of fresh fruit and vegetables, poultry, horticulture and turf farms, is worth around $1.5 billion a year. The region produces 12 per cent of NSW’s total agricultural production and employs 11 per cent of the state’s workforce. In addition, the Sydney region contributes over 15 percent of NSW’s total vegetable production.

Region. Asian food production

Peri-urban agriculture needs to be recognised for the important role it plays in the economy, not just in growing food for local use but in the potential for exports and employment. For example 90 per cent of NSW’s supply of Asian vegetables is grown in the Sydney basin, which could have export potential to China and other areas, and the food processing industry is a significant proportion of Western Sydney’s manufacturing base which is still the region’s largest employer, according to a WSROC submission to the National Food Plan Green Paper.

Moorebank. Air quality assessment

A spokesperson for the proposed federal government’s intermodal terminal at Moorebank has rejected comments from Liverpool City Council general manager, Farooq Portelli, that the air quality assessment will not include "all potential pollution occurring from an intermodal facility".

Liverpool. PM to open institute

The $50 milion Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, in Liverpool, is making final preparations ahead of its official opening next Tuesday. Prime Minister Julia Gillard will do the honours. The new laboratories are equipped with some of the most high-tech equipment in the country and the facility will become home to about 200 researchers.

Region. Funds for infrastructure

A report from Infrastructure Australia includes three entities in Western Sydney which should be sold to fund infrastructure, namely, Sydney Water based in Parramatta, Endeavour Energy (Integral Energy) at Huntingwood and the Sydney Catchment Authority at Penrith.

Region. Industrial engine room

Western Sydney represents the industrial engine room of the Sydney economy. The region has a strong manufacturing sector and is a strategic distribution hub for goods throughout Australia with a significant transport and logistics sector. The region also boasts a strong professional services sector with major commercial centres including Parramatta, Norwest and Penrith, according to the 2012 RDA Sydney Regional Plan Over the past year, the region recorded real GRP growth of 0.9per cent to $95.6 billion, predominantly attributable to growth in transport and logistics, construction and retail trade. The regional GRP is represents 32.2 per cent of the metropolitan area total.

Parramatta. Transport forum

NSW Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, will discuss the state government’s 20 year transport master plan at a forum organised by the Greater Western Sydney Transport Alliance. It will be held at the UWS Parramatta campus, on Friday October 19. Panel members are Clr Alison McLaren, president, Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils; Professor Phillip O’Neill, director, UWS Urban Research Centre; and David Borger, Western Sydney director, Sydney Business Chamber.

Penrith. $219.2 million project

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure has on exhibition a concept plan for the construction of a six-stage mixed-use development comprising residential, retail and associated uses, on the former Panasonic suite, at 164 Station Street, Penrith. The plan seeks approval for: approximately 570 residential flat dwellings, private and communal open space, parking and public domain works; and ancillary non-residential uses including: neighbourhood shops and food and drink premises within the ground floor of the residential buildings, up to a maximum of 995 square metres; and a tavern with gross floor area of 1800 square metres, ancillary car parking and associated site works. Total site area of 7.855 hectares. The capital investment value of the development proposed is $219.2 million.

Penrith. New Masters store

Parkview Penrith Pty Ltd propose to develop a 13,603-square-metre Masters Home Improvement store, Nepean Green, as part of a joint concept plan and stage 1 project on the former Panasonic site at 164 Station Street, Penrith. The store is expected to generate $35 turnover in its first year of trading.

Eastern Creek. Site for sale

The Lighthouse Business Centre, at Eastern Creek, is for sale by private treaty. The 33.19-hectare industrial site, adjoining the M4 and M7 motorways, is available for immediate development.

Ermington.Approval for $52.8 million project

Defence Housing Australia has been given the go-ahead for a $52.8 million development on the foreshore of the Parramatta River, at Ermington. It will feature 450 homes on a 16-hectare site.

Parramatta. $17.3 million for vacant site

Merfad Capital has paid Eureka Funds Management $17.3 million for a vacant site, at 111 George Street, in the Parramatta CBD. The site has approval for 265 apartments in twin 19-storey towers. The initial approval was for a 19-storey commercial building.

Parramatta. Property for sale

A partially occupied property on the high-profile corner of Church and Parkes streets is for sale. All leases expire after March 2015. A proposed development of 386 apartments has been prepared on the 4778-square-metre site.

Wentworthville. Bonds factory sold

Pacific Brands has sold its eight-hectare Bonds factory in Wentworthville for $27.5 million, which has the potential for up to 600 townhouses and apartments, subject to approval.