Parramatta. Proposed rail link rejected

The state government has rejected Parramatta City Council’s proposed $7 million alternative North West Rail Link diverted to Parramatta instead of Epping. A report by Sinclair Knight Merz for the council last month proposed diverting the link from Rouse Hill via Castle Hill and connecting with express trains from Parramatta.

North Ryde. Increase in interest

Macquarie Graduate School of Management has reported an increase in interest for individual professional development programs and in-company activities as the end financial year approached. “Since the Easter break we have seen an increase in the number of people wishing to register and pay for open-enrolment programs rather than perhaps just registering future interest,” the school’s associate director of executive education, Jenny Rickard, said in The Australian Financial Review

Silverwater. Two businessmen inducted

Two Silverwater businessmen have been elected into the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association’s (AAAA) Hall of Fame: Richard Lennox, is CEO, of Tridon Australia, which manufactures and exports an extensive range of hose clamps and tools, and Phillip Joseph, is managing director, of Disc Brakes Australia

Region. Four firms win awards

Four Western Sydney firms won awards at the AAAA Expo in Melbourne recently: Disc Brakes Australia, Silverwater − Winner of the Gold Award for Excellence in Manufacturing over $10 million annual turnover and winner of Best New Aftermarket Product (Performance. Nulon Products, Moorebank − Joint winner of Best New Aftermarket Product (Chemical) – Additives and Lubricants. Valvoline (Australia), Wetherill Park − Winner of Best New Aftermarket Product (Chemical) – Car Care. Gulf Western Oil, Penrith − Winner of the Best Radio Commercial. The awards, run as part of the trade expo organised by the AAAA, showcases the latest accessories, consumables, equipment, tools and services in the industry.

Blacktown. More medical students

Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, said there were 125 students training in Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals and the number would increase to 150 next year, when she visited the new Blacktown Hospital Clinical School Research and Education Centre. $20.6 million of Commonwealth funding for the new training facilities was made under round 1 of the $3.2 billion Health and Hospitals Fund and the Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations’ Capital Development Pool. The University of Western Sydney also contributed $4.5 million.

Ingleburn. Skills centre opened

Senator Chris Evans, the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, opened the 3000-square-metre Macarthur Building Industry Skills Centre, in the Ingleburn industrial estate. The centre will deliver a range of pre-employment programs for young people, and will become a hub for the building industry in south west Sydney.

Parramatta. 'Slight increase' in vacancy

Total vacancy in the Parramatta market witnessed only a slight increase over the six months to January 2010, according to Colliers Sydney Metropolitan Office Research & Forecast Report, autumn edition. This saw total vacancy increase from 9.6 per cent in July 2009 to 9.8 per cent in January 2010. The A-grade market continued to remain tight with vacancy remaining at a historically low level of 2.4 per cent. The B-grade market was the best performing market in the Parramatta area over the second half of 2009 with vacancy declining by 3.6 per cent from 12.6 per cent in July 2009 to 9.0 per cent in January 2010.

Sydney Olympic Park. $1.1 billion in projects

Over the past 10 years, the Sydney Olympic Park Authority has overseen more than $1.1 billion worth of development projects and welcomed more than 120 business and almost 10,000 staff to the 640 hectares it manages. Authority will manage the expansion of the Park to support a daily population of 50,000 and including up to 20,000 daily visitors, under its master plan 2030

Region. Support with reservations

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) strongly supports the federal government’s policy of getting people back to work. “(It) had provided lots of incentives to go back to work, but very few enabling mechanisms,” said WSROC president, Alison McLaren. “The decision to defer infrastructure funding would also impact on some people’s ability to rejoin the workforce. As always, transport remains a critical factor in people’s ability to get to and from work and find employment and Western Sydney is among the most poorly serviced regions in Australia,” she said.

South West. Demand remained strong

Demand in Sydney's South West industrial market has remained solid over the past six months as companies continue to plan for future growth and take advantage of competitive deals that exist in the market. The majority of demand is for quality buildings and this has in turn led to a decline in prime grade vacancy and incentives with limited space available for lease, according to the latest Colliers Sydney Industrial Research & Forecast Report.