AMBITIOUS INDUSTRIAL PARK DEVELOPMENT FOR MONAGHAN TOWN

PETER HUGHES

Plans for an ambitious new industrial park development along the N2 in Monaghan Town, on what is traditionally known as the “O’Neill’s Farm” lands, were unveiled at Monday’s meeting of Monaghan Co Council. The 36-acre Annahagh site will house a projected eight industrial units but their number and size can be adjusted to suit the demands of the market, Council members were informed in a briefing by Director of Planning Services Cathal Flynn. Mr Flynn told the meeting that the Council’s intention was to get the approval of the members to advertise for expressions of interest in relation to the development of an industrial park proposal on the N2 in Monaghan Town.

Mr Flynn acknowledged the interest in and contribution to advancing the project made by Senior Executive Engineer Paul Connolly. The Director of Services said the Council wanted the project to directly align with local, regional and national policy. It was very much about supporting job creation and enterprise and employment growth in Co Monaghan.

The site was adjacent to Monaghan Fire Station and Combilift. In the proposed master plan, the development of a 36-acre area was planned, the majority of which was in the ownership of Monaghan Co Council. “This is about activating the O’Neill’s Farm area for industrial and commercial development,” Mr Flynn told the meeting. They wanted to develop access and infrastructure to enable the construction of eight units that would occupy a 260,000 square feet floor area. He said that the initial outline of the project was tentative in its detail, and the development of the project would be very much guided by what the market demand required.

Guiding the meeting through computer-generated images of what the site might look like in its finished state, Mr Flynn said it could comprise more than eight smaller units if that was what the demand was for, or less than eight bigger units if this was the demand emphasis. “It is an excellent site, the best we have to deliver jobs and economic growth,” he explained. The next steps would be to advertise for expressions of interest and appoint a design team, and continue their surveys and site…