Marsden Park. 550-hectare rezoning

The NSW Government has rezoned the 550-hectare Marsden Industrial Park, which will become Sydney’s largest fully integrated commercial, industrial, bulky goods and
residential community. The precinct, which will accommodate 10,000 new jobs, has been rezoned to allow for a variety of uses including 1200 homes near the planned Marsden Park town centre for 3500 people; 70 hectares of commercial land; 40 hectares of bulky goods retailing; 206 hectares of industrial land; and 63 hectares of conservation land and open space. The precinct’s largest landowner, Marsden Park Developments Pty Ltd, is expected to lodge plans to develop the first project soon - a $2 billion, 265 hectare industrial, office and residential precinct known as Sydney Business Park.

Penrith. Government office opened

Housing Minister, Frank Terenzini, has officially opened the new Housing NSW office, at 6 Station Street, Penrith. Other NSW government agencies that share the building include: Community Services, Juvenile Justice, Fair Trading and the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, and Sydney Catchment Authority.

North Ryde. Tim Flannery honoured

Macquarie University’s Professor Tim Flannery has become the first Australian to receive the Academy of Natural Sciences' Joseph Leidy Award since it was established in 1923. The Joseph Leidy Award was established in 1923 to recognise excellence in publications, explorations, discoveries or research in the natural sciences. Leidy was a leading 19th-century anatomist, paleontologist, parasitologist, and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Penrith. Council disappointed with delay

The NSW government will soon call for tenders for the Erskine Park Link Road with a completion date scheduled for 2013. Penrith Mayor, Kevin Crameri, has expressed his disappointment that the government was breaking its promise to begin work on the link before the end of the year. “This is an essential piece of infrastructure that we need now – not in three years’ time. This disadvantages not only Erskine Business Park, but also the entire city, and keeps industrial traffic clogging up our residential streets. I urge (the government) to commit to a much earlier date for completion,” he said.

Parramatta. EOI to create a short list

Parramatta City Council has called for expressions of interest to generate a shortlist of suppliers capable of providing a broad range on innovative applications and devices that will enable council to benefit from the digital economy, including kiosk-type devices and applications to digital token devices and wireless CCTV cameras. Council is extending the EOI for business to participate in an advisory and support role to the ParraConnect Program.

Region. Six new ferries at $225 million

Minister for Transport, John Robertson, said the NSW Government has started the procurement process to build six new Sydney Ferries vessels to operate services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River, at a cost of $225 million.