Parramatta. Proposal to close jail

The Corrective Services Commissioner, Ron Woodham, has issued a memorandum calling for expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy and transfers to other locations by next Friday. His department is negotiating a proposal to cut 275 custodial positions, which the Public Service Association is hopeful of reducing to 250. Proposals to close Parramatta and two other jails are also on the table.

Parramatta. Merition Apartments' applicatioon

NSW Planning and Infrastructure has on public exhibition an application for a mixed-use residential, retail and commercial development, on the former David Jones site, at 330 Church Street, in the Parramatta CBD. Meriton Apartments seeks to construct a 43,787-square-metre complex including a 3-storey podium with eight retail tenancies, a 1928-square-metre supermarket, a 22-storey tower containing 170 serviced apartments and a 32-storey tower containing 211 residential apartments.

Bella Vista. New supermarket head

Woolworths, which has its corporate office at Bella Vista, has appointed Tjeerd Jegen, as director, of supermarkets and petrol. He will takeover before Christmas. He was a former executive of Tesco and Royal Ahold, a Netherlands-based company

Region. Recycled water scheme

Jemena Asset Management and Veolia Water Australia, on behalf of AquaNet Sydney, state the Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme is expected to commence on September 1. The scheme will deliver to customers 4.3 billion litres of recycled water per year for industry and irrigation in Smith field and Rosehill/Camellia. The scheme includes a recycling plant at Fairfield, underground pipelines from Fairfield to Smithfield and Rosehill/Camellia, and storage tanks at Guildford and Rosehill/Camellia.

Region. Warehouse space leased

Novartis Animal Health Australasia has leased 2800 square metres of warehouse space at 75 Hartley Road, Smeaton Grange. The space has been leased from Nu-Truck Spares for a 6 year term at a gross rent of $96per square metres. Rediform Constructions has leased 825square metres of warehouse space at 7 Moorlands Road, Ingleburn The warehouse has been leased for an 18 month term at a net rent of $105 per square metre.

North Ryde. University moved up ranking

Macquarie University has moved up the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for the fifth consecutive year. Compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the ARWU ranks more than 1000 universities worldwide based upon a number of indicators including their number of highly cited researchers and the number of articles published in journals Nature and Science. Macquarie was officially placed in the 200-300 band worldwide, equal 8-9th with the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Wetherill Park. Shifts cut back

Housing fixtures maker GWA Group will cut shifts at it Wetherill Park factory, which produces Caroma products, as a result of the stronger dollar and a desire to remain competitive, which meant to group would need to restructure some of its operations.

Region. UWS appoints dean

The University of Western Sydney has appointed Professor Annemarie Hennessy as the new dean of the school of medicine. Professor Hennessy, who is a world-leading physiology scientist and researcher, has been the foundation chair of medicine since the school's early beginnings, and has been teaching and mentoring UWS medical students since the first cohort began in 2007. She has a dual role as professor of medicine at UWS and director of medicine at Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals

North Ryde. Data centre to open in 2012

Macquarie Telecom has announced that construction is progressing well on its new world-class data centre at North Ryde, a $60 million investment that will create up to 100 jobs over five years. The new data centre, called Intellicentre 2, is scheduled to open in early 2012. The investment was secured for NSW with support from NSW Trade and Investment. The data centre will create 50 jobs in its first year rising to almost 100 jobs within five years. Macquarie Telecom already operates a data centre in Sydney's CBD but is establishing this second centre at North Ryde to cater for continued growth in data hosting and managed enterprise cloud computing services.

Sydney Olympic Park. Solar cell production

Silex Solar, at Sydney Olympic Park, the only Australian company, which manufactures solar cells, is closing this part of its operations, with the loss of 30 jobs... The company will continue to make solar PV panels, using imported components. “I would like to make it clear that the changes made are to secure Silex Solar’s long-term future and to remain a key player in the Australian PV panel market,” said CEO, Craig Menzies.

Parramatta. Property sold for $4.1 million

Mo Ko Enterprises has paid Henry Wong and James Chiu $4.1 million for a two-storey mixed-use property on the south-east corner of Church and George streets, in the Parramatta CBD. Tenants include Tax Tips, Vodafone, Glamour Hair and 7-Eleven. Anthony Khoury and George Khoury, from Khoury & Partners, negotiated the deal.

Blacktown. Parklea owner insolvent

Almona Pty Ltd, owned by Con Constantine, has gone into administration, casting doubt on plans for $135 million redevelopment of the 17-hectare property, at Glenwood, which included a two-storey hotel, a 21,000-square-metre conference centre and a 17,000-square-metre growers’ market, according to The Australian Financial Review.

Erskine Park. Marketing campaign

Companies in the Erskine Park business park are being asked to nominate others they would like to see there as part of the Penrith Business Alliance's (PBA) marketing campaign to attract more jobs to the area. PBA chief executive, Bijai Kumar, said the campaign tied in with the imminent start of the Erskine Park link road, which will make the park more attractive for businesses looking to move. An RTA spokesman said preliminary work, including the establishment of a site office, was due to be carried out in September.

South-West, Lieghton selected for freight line

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has selected Leighton Holdings to deliver the final stage of the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL), worth $150 million. The SSFL will provide a 36-kilometre dedicated freight line between Macarthur and Sefton, allowing passenger and freight services to operate independently. Construction is expected to start in October and completion is scheduled for late 2012.