Featured
Jobs growth in Hills
THE Sydney Hills has a labour force of almost 102,000 - according to a report by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations released in June 2012.
Regional Roundup OCTOBER
Summary of news and initiatives from the GWS region.
By Red Dwyer
Pathways for disadvantaged
MARIST Youth Care’s new Skills Development Centre, in Blacktown, is providing pathways for young disadvantaged people into employment by providing them with work ready skills. The program has already placed its first intake of 12 teenagers, between the ages of 16 and 19 in general construction, sheet metal and maintenance roles.
Woolies sells businesses
WOOLWORTHS, headquarted at Norwest Business Park has sold its Dick Smith stores for $20 million to private equity group, Anchorage Capital Partners, and has signed an agreement to sell its interest in its Indian business, Woolworths Wholesale, to Infiniti Retail Ltd, owned by India's Tata Sons, for $35 million.
Bluestar NSW HQ
LOGOS Property will develop the $35 million NSW headquarters of Bluestar Logistics, in Erskine Park, an established hub for logistics companies, which includes Woolworths, Linfox, DHL and Coles. Bluestar will pay rent of about $4 million annually for 4.23 hectares of space over two warehouses.
Hub on exhibition
THE department of Planning & Infrastructure has on public exhibition the proposed Eastern Creek Business Hub providing retail, open space and limited tourism land uses. Components will include bulky goods/large format retail, convenience retail and associated recreation components. Around 11 hectares of retail uses proposed, with around 20 hectares of open space and recreation. Capital investment value: $129 million.
Stabling facility delayed
TRANSPORT for NSW said plans to deliver a new train stabling facility at Emu Plains had been delayed, as additional train stabling facilities are not expected to be required for a number of years, a review showed.
GWA relocated
LISTED company GWA Bathrooms and Kitchens, has leased 2378 square metres of office space, in a one and a bit floors in a five-storey building, in Norwest Business Park, at $275 per square metres. About 160 staff will relocate from various locations.
Council seeks manager
LIVERPOOL City Council has advertised for an economic development manager to implement the city’s economic strategy.
$8.4 million plant
NSW Premier and Minister for Western Sydney, Barry O’Farrell, has opened the new, $8.4 million A2 Milk processing facility in Smeaton Grange that will directly create 25 new jobs. Mr O’Farrell said the partly Australian owned company was expanding its processing facilities to meet growing demand. Previously, A2 Milk was processed in Queensland.
Manufacturer streamlines
FURNITURE manufacturer and retailer Fantastic Holdings has streamlined its warehouse process and optimised its supply chain performance across the company’s operations. The company has implemented Manhattan SCALE product suite at its main 360,000 square foot purpose built distribution centre, at Fairfield. Two on show in Berlin DELKOR Rail Pty Ltd, at Regents Park, and Pacific Rail Engineering Pty Ltd, at Chipping Norton, were two of six NSW companies attending Innotrans, the world's largest exhibition focused on the rail transport and related engineering sector.
Centre for sale
THE sub-regional Fairfield Forum shopping centre, on a 4282-hectare site in the Fairfield CBD s for sale. Fully leased the centre’s net income if $3.6 million annually.
Defence renews lease
PLANS by Qube Logistics to set up a $1 billion freight hub, at Moorebank, could be delayed after the Defence Department exercised its right to renew a lease over the proposed site for another five years, to 2018. Qube Logistics expects Defence will still move off the site by late 2014 or early 2015. The federal government is pushing ahead with plans for a $1.6 billion intermodal facility on land, opposite Qube’s proposal, which will be vacated by Defence by the end of 2014.
Officeworks closure
OFFICEWORKS will close its outlet in George Street, in the Parramatta CBD, on November 6 and relocate to North Parramatta
Functions on racecourse
THE Sydney Turf Club has lodged a DA with Parramatta City Council for the use of Rosehill Racecourse for non-racing events including functions, conferences, exhibitions, shows and up to six concerts in a calendar year. Approval is also sought for a Place of Entertainment on race days.
Property sold for $2.03m
A PHARMACEUTICAL owner-occupier has paid $2.03 million for a 1205-square-metre freestanding office and warehouse property, at 81 Carnarvon Street, Silverwater, formerly occupied by Homart Pharmaceuticals, which has relocated to Rydalmere.
Refining to cease
SHELL ceased refining at its Clyde Refinery, on the Camellia peninsula, on September 30. The company announced in July that the refinery would be converted into a dedicated fuel terminal.
Comments on Parramatta Square
PARRAMATTA City Council is seeking comments on a draft DCP for Parramatta Square (formerly known as Civic Place), bounded by Macquarie Street, Smith Street, Darcy Street and Church Street Mall, Parramatta. The draft DCP is a proposed amendment to the Parramatta City Centre DCP 2007. The draft DCP will guide future development and use of Parramatta Square.
City a prime target
AGEING unit blocks in the inner west and Parramatta will become prime targets for redevelopers if the state government’s proposed overhaul of strata laws proceeds. Parramatta city centre would be hight on the agenda, given it has been under development pressure for years due to the projected growth in the area.
Threat to acquisition
THE ACCC is threatening to block Woolworths’ acquisition of an undeveloped supermarket site, at Glenmore Ridge. The commission’s preliminary view was that the proposed acquisition was likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in the local market by preventing the entry of a rival supermarket.
Bidders compensated
LOSING bidders in the competition to run the privately operated North West Rail Link will each be compensated by up to $10 million of taxpayers’ money. The government says the compensation promise, outlined in a briefing to industry this week, is, in part needed because of the damage to the state’s reputation caused by cancelled rail projects over the past decade.
New home for disabled
FIVE people with disabilities have a new, custom designed place to live in following the opening of a new facility in Sydney’s west by the Thorndale Foundation. The Kingswood residence with its modern design, specific floor plan and new fittings is a far cry from the where they have been up until now - cottages built back in the 70s at Orchard Hills. Penrith-based building company, ZAC Homes designed and constructed the centre at no cost to the organisation.
Family businesses overlooked
WITH an estimated wealth of $4.3 trillion and an average annual turnover of $12 million family businesses make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. However there is currently no person in the government who looks after the interests of family businesses, says Family Business Australia CEO Philippa Taylor. “The family business sector is usually lumped together with small business and not consulted about policies that affect it,” she said.
Blacktown's bold bid to be a smarter city
A BOLD plan exists to change perceptions, encourage investment, attract higher-order jobs and create a regional city – that’s the ambitious aim of Blacktown City Council
While traditional industries are the backbone of the local economy – representing 35.1 per cent (2011) of the city’s gross regional product (GRP) – Blacktown is exploring niche industry markets to broaden the city’s economic base and create a “smarter city”.
The exploration of niche markets to facilitiate and transform the city was important former Blacktown mayor, Alan Pendleton, told 150 business people at the Western Sydney- The Growth Agenda function.
The event was a partnership between the Property Council of Australia (NSW) and Western Sydney Business Connection, held at the WatervieW Conference Centre. in Bicentennial Park.
Clr Pendleton said the opening by Hewlett Packard of the $200 million Aurora regional cloud computing data centre,in Eastern Creek, was a “tremendous coup” for Blacktown.
Clr Pendleton, who is also chairman of the Parramatta-based Regional Development Australia-Sydney, said a realistic opportunity existed to grow an ICT sector in Western Sydney and that Blacktown is well placed to support such a culster.
He said Blacktown City Council was committed to growing the Western Sydney economic base and believed that Blacktown’s role was critical and could be substaintial.
He said the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Blacktown had grown to $139 million, an increase of 4.0 per cent in 12 months.
To capitalise on a range of opportunities and attract investment, Clr Pendleton said council had adopted stage one of the Blacktown City Centre framework, which had been submitted to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure
“Our plan is deliberately bold,” he said.
He said council sought to create a corridor toalling 17 hectares of land for future commercial office space, with office blocks up to 18 storeys high, within a traditional CBD setting to attract higher-order jobs and help to close the employment gap which existed in the region.
“The next phases of the Blacktiown City Centre planning fraamework involve the creation of a business park and more intense use of the medical and health precinct that surrounds Blacktown Hospital.”
He said completed and current works to improve the amenity of the city included the stage one redevelopment of the Blacktown Showground, reprsenting a $15 million investment by council
Another initiative, has been the creation of a Village Green, which represented a $5 million investment in Blacktown emerging as a regional city.
He said when fully implemented the plan could provide an estimated employment capacity for up to 40,000 new when the current planned growth for the centre was 5000 jobs.
He said major corporations in the city included Arnott’s, De Bortoli Australia, #m Purification, Cadbury-Schweppes, One Steel, Sharp and LG, which contrinuted to Blacktown’s GRP of $10.7 billion annually – up by 38 per cent in the past five years – contributing, in turn,12.6 per cent of Western Sydney’s $85 billion GRP..
Clr Pendleton said with the state of the NSW economy it was beholden on Western Sydney councils to “forge a new paradigm”.
Featured
Record growth for Century 21
CENTURY 21 Australia, one Western Sydney’s most prominent real estate brands is experiencing the fastest network growth in the company’s history, with on average, almost one new office joining the group each week since the start of 2012.
Apprenticeships a worthy investment
IN the Middle Ages, master craftsmen were entitled to employ children as young as ten as apprentices, imparting their skills in exchange for the apprentice’s labour and lodging.
Former Wiggles chief to lead Hills event
MIKE CONWAY, former managing director of the Wiggles will be the star guest panellist at the Playing2Win event at the Hills Shire Council in October.
Connection to lead India delegation
INDIA has significant needs in developing its economy, infrastructure and living standards and provides real opportunities for Australian business, according to a Parramatta-based business organisation.
