Leura. Council rescinds decision

The Blue Mountains City Council has reversed its earlier decision and allowed the Leura Golf Club to reclassify five adjoining lots on the golf course to residential zoning as part of a key short term recovery strategy. The planning minister will now be requested to amend LEP 2005 by rezoning five lots and partially rezoning a sixth from recreation (private) to living (conservation including protected area — escarpment area). Club president, Clifford Smith, said the club was “delighted” with the decision after racking up losses of about $310,000 in the past two years, which has been attributed to a combination of new non-smoking rules, the effect of poker machines, the global financial crisis and the nearby Fairmont Resort’s woes.

Eastern Creek. Landfill capacity extended

The Planning Department’s deputy director-general, Richard Pearson, has approved the modification for the Eastern Creek waste and recycling centre, which was sought by WSN Environmental solutions. The upgrade will provide additional and extended landfill capacity for Sydney, helping to meet existing demand and reduce cross-regional truck movements. The works will increase the site’s total landfill capacity from 2.9 million to 4.5 million tonnes. The changes will also see the waste disposal rate of 500,000 tonnes per annum, raised to 550,000 until June 30, 2017. The landfill cessation date will also be extended from 2014 to June 2017.

Merrylands. Proposal to trade for 24 hours

Stockland Merrylands has lodged a DA with Holroyd City Council for two of its stores, Kmart and Target, to extend their hours to 24 hours a day. The move follows a decision by Kmart to extend the trading hours of many of its stores across the country. In its application, Stockland said the retailer would expect to serve 50 customers between midnight and 6am. While Target is included in the DA, Stockland development manager retail Christina Nelson said the store had no plans to trade 24 hours a day but were included for “future flexibility”.

Noth Ryde. Research grants total $750,000

Macquarie University has been awarded three Australian Research Council grants totalling $750,000 to provide funding for large-scale cooperative initiatives so that infrastructure, equipment and facilities can be shared by researchers in partnered organisations. The successful applicants will collaborate with other universities and other organisations on their projects. Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr, said, “When these facilities are established, they will be utilised by researchers from around the world, fostering global research partnerships,” He said the new and improved facilities would allow researchers to broaden their understanding of topics such as climate change, bacterial infections and space. Funding for the projects will commence in January 2011.

Norwest. $49m building nearing completion

Private developer, Presida, is nearing completion of its $49 million spec development, Vantage, in Nowrest Business Park. The project, the third by the company in the precinct – the others are Sky City and T1 – is a a 13,500-square-metre A-grade building, with footplates up to 2709 square metres.