Erskine Park. 800 hectares and $80 million

The NSW Government has released more than 800 hectares of employment land at the intersection of the M4 and M7 in western part of the Western Sydney Employment Area Western and would fund the $80 million Erskine Park Link Road. “These new employment lands at Eastern Creek and Horsley Park will accommodate up to 16,500 workers,” Premier Nathan Rees said. The link road would connect the employment lands with a four-lane road to the M7 through Lenore Lane and Old Wallgrove Road, providing a vital new transport spine through the area, he said. “Delivering this road will not only boost access to the employment lands but will ease traffic on local roads in the area,” he said.

Erskine Park. Tax will 'kill' proposal

Developers said the NSW Government's plan for an 800-hectare new business park, at the intersection of the M4 and M7 motorways, to support 16,500 jobs in Western Sydney is too costly to succeed. The Urban Taskforce, said the $180,000-per-hectare tax being imposed on developments on the site was about three times the cost of developing other land in the area. The Property Council of Australia's NSW executive director, Ken Morrison, said the "state infrastructure charge" would kill any chance of the park succeeding. "It will just kill this proposal stone-cold dead," he said. "You just cannot ask a piece of land like this to be viable and have this level of taxation associated with it." The acquisition of land for the road is beginning this year, with construction due to start in 2010, according to the ABC.

South West. Approval over opposition

Planning Minister Kristina Keneally has approved a new $200 million gas-fired power plant to be built at Leafs Gully, about 15 kilometres from Campbelltown, over opposition from Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly councils on pollution grounds, according to an ABC report. The plant will be a 360-megawatt station but there is a possibility of expansion after it has been operating for 12 months. It will be built over the next two years by AGL. The project would create up to 145 operational and construction jobs

Merrylands Stockland Merrylands project

Stockland is currently building stage two of its $300 million expansion of Stockland Merrylands, which is due to be completed in mid-2010. Ninety speciality shops and a food court are included. Coles, Woolworths and Big W will be added in stages three and four in an application before Holroyd Council.

Chipping Norton. Product aimed at Asia

Chipping Norton-based, Solar Gem Pty Ltd, has been accepted for Australian Technology Showcase membership. Solar Gem has developed a modular solar/battery power generation system for LED lighting and other uses that is suited to remote locations where diesel power generation is unsuitable. The product is being targeted at mainly Asian countries where there is strong demand

Westmead. Mission aim to raise $4.5m

Parramatta Mission has purchased an apartment block, to be called Wesley Apartments, directly opposite the entrance to The Children's Hospital at Westmead to offer free, exteneded accommodation for families. Parramatta Mission aims to raise $4.5 million by October to cover the $1.3 million purchase loan, the $700,000 renovation and anticipated running expenses of $120,000 per annum. Renovationa are expedted to begin this month.

Parramatta. $8.3 billion to save three minutes

A preliminary environmental assessment report for the planned West Metro underground line, lodged with the Planning Department, states it will cost $8.3 billion, take five years to build and will improve travel times from Sydney's west by just three minutes. The 24km twin-tunnel metro will run from the CBD to Westmead. The project is in its infancy with $91 million in Federal Government money for pre-construction, engineering and design work. If the Government receives more funding or private investment, construction is due to start in 2011 with trains running by 2017. “With the State Government's track record - $13 billion worth of rail projects in the northwest and southwest scrapped in the past year - sceptics say this will be another project not to see the light of day,” The Daily Telegraph said. The Parramatta Advertiser headlined an editorial: Dont get too exicted about link.