Parramatta appoints Greg Dyer as new CEO
PARRAMATTA City Council has announced the appointment of Mr Gregory Dyer as Chief Executive Officer.
How much TV is too much for kids?
By Chris Rissel
Professor of Public Health at University of Sydney
IF you’ve ever sat your toddler down in front of the television to give yourself a few minutes of much-needed rest, you’re certainly not alone.
Regional Round-up December 2013
Funds for business plan
PENRITH City Council has agreed to the Penrith Business Alliance Business Plan for 2013-2014 and the provision of $516,000 (plus GST) to be paid in two separate instalments of $258,000 (plus GST) each, in October 2013 and March 2014.
Students uni places
ALL 700 Blue Mountains and Lithgow HSC students disrupted by the recent bushfires will receive a guaranteed offer of a place to study at the University of Western Sydney. In addition, those who lost or suffered significant damage to their home will also receive a $2000 On Track Scholarship. This will assist students with expenses, such as purchasing textbooks, stationery, study materials and other equipment.
New UWS partnership
THE University of Western Sydney has a new partnership with Open Universities Australia to give potential students a taste of university study. Under the partnership, members of the public will be able to study a special course in sociology designed by a leading UWS lecturer, giving them an introduction to the field and how it informs an understanding of the way the world operates.
Deluxe accommodation award
LILIANFIELDS Blue Mountains resort and Spa won the regional deluxe accommodation of the year award, at the 2013 Tourism Accommodation Australia (NSW) Awards for Excellence.
Award for excellence
LEND Lease’s Ropes Crossing was named the best community development in NSW at the state’s Urban Development Institute of Australia’s Awards for Excellence. Ropes Crossing is a fully masterplanned community and the first village of Lend Lease’s St Marys Project.
$22m hotel opened
AMALGAMATED Holdings Limited’s $22 million, 122-room Atura Hotel, at Prospect, has opened. The company owns the Royal Cricketers Arms and Blacktown Drive-In, both of which will both undergo refurbishments. The hotel is adjacent to the Skyline Drive.
Park swamped with applicants
MORE than 10,000 people applied for 300 positions at the Wet ‘n’ Wild water park, at Prospect, which opens on December 12.
Consultancy advices council
STRAIGHT Talk will assist with community and business stakeholder engagement for Liverpool City Council’s city revitalisation plans. Straight Talk specialises in leading practice community engagement, stakeholder management and communication services.
Zip funds centre
MICHAEL Crouch CEO and executive chairman, of Zip Industries, at Condell Park has made a substantial donation to the establishment of an innovation centre at the University of NSW to be known as the Crouch Innovation Centre in the university’s new Materials Science Engineering Building, $145 million project, which is due for completion by June 2015.
3200 dwellings
THE concept plan for a mixed use residential, commercial and retail development, with a dwelling yield of 3200 dwellings and up to 45,000 square metres of retail/commercial floor space within the new Edmondson Park Town Centre, has been approved. The plan also included the establishment of a regional parkland of approximately 150 hectares.
$1.4 million over three years
THE Minister for Health, Peter Dutton, said UWS has been awarded $1.4 million over three grants and equipment funding in the School of Medicine and the MARCS Research Institute, at the Campbelltown campus.
City’s challenges
CHALLENGES in Liverpool City Council’s economic development strategy include: public transport linkages to and within Liverpool which require improvement; revitalisation of Liverpool CBD and traffic congestion in CBD impacts accessibility.
Advocating for growth
LIVERPOOL City Council’s economic development strategy includes advocating to the federal and NSW governments the case for infrastructure and services investment commensurate with Liverpool‘s regional city status, and attraction of new job generating business investment to Liverpool: health and medical research, distribution and logistics, professional services.
$10 million hotel
A DEVELOPER has obtained approval to build a $10 million, nine-storey hotel in the southern precinct of the Liverpool CBD. The project, on a former cinema site, at 39 Scott Street, will include a ground floor commercial area of approximately 470 square metres and a retail space of 95 square metres.
$35 million upgrade
THE 22-storey Commonwealth Bank building, at 105 George Street, in the Parramatta CBD is expected to undergo a $35 million upgrade including an additional 3500 square metres to the existing 22,000 square metres.
Carter Street activation
THE Carter Street activation zone, adjacent to Sydney Olympic Park, is earmarked for 11,000 residents and 8000 workers with retail and commercial space.
Deloitte’s expansion plans
ONE of the Big Four professional services firms, Deloitte, which has trebled its revenue in Western Sydney over the past eight years and boosted staff numbers from 65 to 280, plans the double that number over the next two years or so.
Authority wins award
SYDNEY Olympic Park Authority’s environmental management has been acknowledged at the 2013 Green Globe Awards, receiving the 10-Year Sustainability Achievement Award and the joint winner of the Public Sector Sustainability Award.
New high-tech centre
THE new high-tech, government-funded Centre of Excellence for Meat and Allied Trades will open at Granville TAFE next year. The TAFE is the only one in NSW offering smallgoods training and cooked meat products.
Expansion of DFO
REDEVELOPMENT underway at DF0 Homebush will see it expand from 86 stores to over 126 stores across two levels including 90 fashion retailers 18 bulky goods and home wares stores. The number of parking spaces will increase from 400 spaces to in excess of 2000. The redevelopment is expected to be completed by mid-2014.