Industrial estate in Tipperary 'still a farm' more than 20 years after its purchase

Concern about a lack of progress at the Ballingarrane Industrial Estate in Clonmel was voiced at a meeting of Clonmel Borough District.

Cllr Michael Murphy said that the site is “still basically a farm” more than 20 years after it had been purchased by Tipperary County Council.

He claimed that the IDA had “failed them” in the context of the 50 acres that it owned within the estate, and he asked if the council was engaging with the IDA for a prospective tenant.

The council had previously stated that in the last two to three years it had made progress. It had completed a design and was ready to submit a planning application.

Cllr Michael Murphy also asked if the supply of water was an issue of concern.

Cllr Pat English said he hopes that funding for the estate would be made available in the short term rather than the long term.
Ned O’Connor, the former County Manager of South Tipperary County Council, and the councillors at the time had shown great foresight in purchasing the site, he added.

Cllr John FitzGerald said that the farm at Ballingarrane was being let out every year for agricultural purposes, and it was a very bad return for investment purposes.

He said there didn’t seem to be any real plan for the estate and an announcement would be timely.

Ita Horan, representing the county council’s Local Enterprise Office, said that the Ballingarrane Estate was on track and there would be room for smaller businesses as well as the larger IDA industries.

She understood that the council had been in contact with the IDA about Ballingarrane.