Westfield Parramatta

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Westfield Parramatta is a shopping centre in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The centre is owned and managed by The Westfield Group and has a net leasable area of approximately 126,000 m² and built over five levels, as of October 2006 it contains approximately 560 shops ^[1]. With a recent renovation complete it has allowed more stores and more room for consumers to shop as well as making it easier to access the station via public transport. The centre is connected to Parramatta railway station.

Westfield Parramatta, as seen from the bus bay at Parramatta railway station.

1 Description
2 Industrial disputes
3 Community exhibitions
4 Celebrity appearances
5 Stores
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Description

The centre is located in Parramatta, 24 km west of the Sydney central business district and has been redeveloped several times, most notably in 1994-1996 when the centre increased in size from approximately 80,000 m² to its current size of 126,000 m².

In 2006, Westfield opened a multi-cinema complex across Fitzgerald Avenue from the main building, connected by a glass bridge from Level 4 of the main building to the complex. The Greater Union cinema complex contain 3 Gold Class Screens, 1 GMAX Theatre and 7 Normal Movie Cinemas. Greater Union opened on 22 June 2006.

[edit] Industrial disputes

In May 2003, the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union took action against Westfield Parramatta's cleaning contractor P&H Property Services, claiming employees are frequently paid late or on returning from vacations, which is in breach of their employment conditions. ^[2].

[edit] Community exhibitions

Westfield Parramatta, as a busy community thoroughfare, is used by community organisations to raise awareness of wide ranging issues. On November 2006, Federal Member for Parramatta Julie Owens opened the Seventy7 Shoes exhibition organised by YWCA to raise the issue of domestic violence ^[3] .

[edit] Celebrity appearances

Due to the size of the centre stage area Westfield Parramatta is frequently visited by celebrities and media personalities. In 2006 this included Australian Idol contestants, Dean Geyer, Ricky Muscat, Jessica Mauboy, Chris Murphy and Damien Leith, with a crowd of about 5000 in attendance. ^[4] ^[5].