Parramatta. Development site for sale

A DA approved commercial development site, at 89 George Street, in the Parramatta commercial core, is on the market. The building, containing over 10,000 square metres of A-grade office space, is designed to achieve 5-star green-star rating. The site, with a frontage of 18.3 metres and an area of 1353 square metres, is currently occupied by Better Brakes and Lindus Dry Cleaning.

Penrith. Landcom seeks EOI

Landcom is seeking interest and feedback from institutions, retailers, commercial users, developers and aged care providers to participate in the creation of a new commercial centre in North Penrith.

Parramatta. 'Young gun' solicitor

Donald Chen, from Kah Lawyers, Solicitors & Notaries, in Parramatta, is a finalist in the Trudie Rogers Medical Lawyers Young Gun Award category, of the Lawyers Weekly 2012 Australian Law Awards. He will be up against nominees from international firms such as DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie and Squire Sanders. “Donald’s commitment to serve the community as a ‘young gun’ solicitor has served him well. He has excelled in the immigration law field and is a valued team member of Kah Lawyers,” said Annette Carpenter, the firm’s office manager. The final will be held in Melbourne, on July 27. Lawyers Weekly is regarded as Australia’s leading authoritative source of independent news, analysis and opinion about the business of law in Australia.

Region. Opposition to cuts

Plans by the NSW government to cut language and literacy services by half will severely impact the most vulnerable members of society, the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) said. “And these cuts will be felt most keenly in Western Sydney where we already have high number of disadvantaged students and a large non-English speaking community,” said Clr Alison McLaren, WSROC president.

Ryde. 'Good economic sense'

Ryde City Council says the proposed Ryde Civic Precinct makes good economic sense for the city. It would provide much needed facilities for Ryde at a fraction of the cost of maintaining or refurbishing the existing council administration building, council said. The alternatives - do nothing or refurbish the existing building - would cost council more. Do nothing and the council would spend money until the building fails, council said. Refurbishment would cost council considerably more (estimated at this stage to be $39.2 million) than the proposed development with none of the community benefits. Council’s asset value would increase to $79 million and council would maintain ownership of its facilities and the land on which they are situated.

Parramatta. Cash not accepted

Sydney Buses staff will no longer accept cash when selling tickets from Parramatta Interchange from Monday, July 16. EFTPOS and credit cards will still be accepted. Parramatta Interchange is PrePay-only from 7am until 7pm on weekdays, for all Sydney Buses services including Route T80 to Liverpool.

Penrith. $20 million for bridge

The NSW government has committed $20 million for a new active transport crossing of the Nepean River between Penrith and Emu Plains. The Nepean River Green Bridge will provide for pedestrians and cyclists who currently use the footpath on Victoria Bridge and for any future active transport demand across the Nepean River. The closing date for submissions on the draft transport study is July 17.