Prospect. $500 million to local economy

Premier, Barry O'Farrell, who is also the Minister for Western Sydney, was on site as the first sods were turned for the construction of the $115 million water theme park, Wet'n'Wild Sydney, at Prospect, due to open at the end of 2013. ''This development alone will bring 300 jobs to this part of Sydney: 300 construction jobs … then 300 jobs at the theme park. It will also attract an estimated 900,000 visitors a year. Almost 20 per cent of those will come from overseas and interstate, and that's great news for hotels, that's great news for restaurants, for those people who run businesses in and around western Sydney,'' he said. Village Roadshow said the park would contribute $500 million in economic to the local community.

Region. Liberals bite deeply

“In parts of Western Sydney and the lower Hunter, where the Liberal Party did so well at the state election, the Liberals have bitten deeply into councils traditionally controlled by Labor. There were consistent swings of 5 per cent to 10 per cent from Labor to Liberal in Blacktown, Bankstown, Parramatta and Campbelltown. The Liberal Party's first foray into Camden has been a huge success, and Labor even lost support in Fairfield and Penrith, where the Liberal Party did not endorse candidates,” according to Antony Green, an election analyst with the ABC, in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ingleburn. New factory for Darrell Lea

Klark Quinn, the heir to the Queensland-based VIP Pet Foods company, which bought confectionery firm, Darrell Lea, for an undisclosed amount, has given himself 18 months to move the manufacturing process from Kogarah to a new factory, at Ingleburn, adjacent to the Darrell Lea warehouse.

Penrith. CBD rejuvenation

The Penrith Business Alliance, a private-sector lobby group, and Penrith City Council are working on Penrith Progression, a plan to rejuvenate Penrith CBD by pitching a final vision and corporate opportunities to developers. Council director, Barry Husking, said it was a project which would accelerate a development process that would otherwise take years to complete.

Windsor. $2.4 million upgrade

The Windsor Sports Complex will become a state-of-the-art sporting facility, following an approval from council to construct an 800-seat grandstand worth more than $2 million. The complex, home ground to the Windsor Wolves NSW Cup and Bundaberg Cup rugby league teams, is set to get a facelift with the addition of the 800-seat grandstand and associated facilities, and is expected to be completed by August next year.

Parramatta. Sydney Water wins award

Sydney Water, headquartered in Parramatta, has been part of a project team which this week won a 2012 NSW Government Green Globe Award for exploring the viability of capturing and reusing urine from urban toilets as an agricultural fertiliser. The “sustainable sanitation project” was led by University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, and was the first trial of a urine diversion (UD) system in an Australian institutional setting. It examined the barriers and opportunities for urine capture and reuse.