North West. Rail link

An announcement about the final route and cost of the north-west rail link is expected this week, possibly as early as today, according to the Sydney Morning Herald It will confirm the line as a 23-kilometre extension to the heavy rail network from Epping to Rouse Hill in north-west Sydney. The cost of the project, which will involve a 15-kilometre tunnel, the largest built in Sydney, will be about $8 billion.

Region. Too much to pay

Sydney Water considers that $1 million is too much to prevent an extra 2.1 tonnes of phosphorus and 3.9 tonnes of nitrogen from discharging into the Hawkesbury River each year. The water utility angered residents, oyster farmers and fishers after it applied for permission earlier this year to discharge up to 10 times more nitrogen, ammonia and phosphorus into the Hawkesbury from the Brooklyn plant. The managing director of Sydney Water, Kevin Young, said, in the Sydney Morning Herald, effluent limits was a proposal that was undergoing ''a robust process'' and no decision had yet been made.

Blacktown. Masterplan for the CBD

Blacktown Mayor Alan Pendleton said a new master plan for the CBD will give developers the certainty they need to invest in major building projects and turn Blacktown into a regional city. The master plan opens the door for 16-storey buildings up to 64 metres high in some parts of the city. The plan, on public exhibition, allows for a CBD with 36 hectares of commercial and mixed-use retail/residential space and about 30,000 jobs by 2036.

Baulkham Hills. Town centre expansion

The Hills Council has approved an expansion of Baulkham Hills town centre to include a 13,845 square metre site. The site borders the northern end of the town centre, opposite Stockland Mall on Windsor Road. The proposal will be forwarded to the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for final approval.

Catherine Field. $3 million to fund process

The southern part of the Catherine Field precinct could be developed within two years after the landowners, Valad Commercial Management, agreed to fund the $3 million process. The 320-hectare site is bordered by Camden Valley Way, Cobbitty Road, Kolombo and South Creeks and Springfield Road. It has the capacity for about 3000 houses, employment land and mixed-use areas, as well as substantial recreation areas