Advance factory boost for town
FIFTY JOBS TO BE CREATED BY LOCAL CONSORTIUM DURING BUTLERSLAND BUILD
A plan to attract over 1,000 jobs to New Ross has been boosted by the announcement that a local developer team is investing millions in building an advance factory in Butlersland, creating 50 jobs in the process.
A Grade A building of between 35,000 sq ft and 40,000 sq ft is being built in Butlersland industrial park behind JCE Tyres by Farwall – a consortium of PJ O’Farrell from New Ross and brothers Eamonn and Liam Wall from Fethardon-Sea.
Mr O’Farrell said Farwall is building a factory which can be expanded to 55,000 sq ft, if required by a company looking to locate in New Ross. They are also lodging a planning application for a 20,000 sq ft factory in the event that a company requires this.
Mr O’Farrell said the premises will be built by the end of next year and will be leased to Wexford County Council for a short number of years, during which time he hopes an investor will locate there.
A PLAN to attract over 1,000 jobs to New Ross has been boosted by the announcement that a local developer team is investing millions in building an advance factory in Butlersland, creating 50 jobs in the process.
A Grade A building of between 35,000 sq ft and 40,000 sq ft is being built in Butlersland industrial park behind JCE Tyres by Farwall – a consortium of PJ O’Farrell and brothers Eamonn and Liam Wall from Fethardon-Sea.
Wexford County Council recently sought an extension for two advance factories in Butlersland, where a significant landbank is available for factory development.
PJ O’Farrell said Farwall is building a factory which can be expanded to 55,000 sq ft, if required by a company looking to locate in New Ross. They are also lodging a planning application for a 20,000 sq ft factory in the event that a company requires this.
Wexford County Council has been trying to get an advance factory built in New Ross for several years and Cllr Anthony Connick welcomed the announcement, saying it is a major boost for the area.
Mr O’Farrell said: ‘ I have been involved in negotiations for the last couple of years. Initially it came up for tender three or four years ago but the tender system didn’t work for us when we were initially looking at this.’
Having previously been co-owner of Fastway, Mr O’Farrell said he wanted to relocate the courier depot to Butlersland a few years ago but it didn’t happen.
Following contact from Cllr John Fleming and New Ross District Manager Mick McCormack, Mr Farrell came back on board earlier this year, along with friends, Eamonn and Liam Wall, with whom he built the Waterford Road Business Park.
The experienced builders, who have over 1,000 houses built, Mr O’Farrell and the Walls are planning on building a modern premises, with a large foyer area to impress potential investors, along with office spaces and a large floor space, to make the premises as attractive as possible.
Mr O’Farrell said the premises will be built by the end of next year and will be leased to Wexford County Council for a short number of years, during which time he hopes an investor will locate there.
After several meetings with Mr Larkin and Mr McCormack a deal was reached in late May for the project to go ahead.
Mr O’Farrell said the design, which is being developed by New Ross architect John Quigley, has to be flexible. The 35,000 - 40,000 sq ft building will have 200 parking spaces for staff and will be landscaped. It will cost over €2.5m to build over a nine-month period.
‘This has to be a state-of-the-art building to attract businesses to New Ross. Twenty years ago, builders built modern farm shed type buildings, but this will have UV top panels and a lot of glass. It will have an attractive foyer for people to come in and see an impressive building with two storeys of glass. At the moment we, in New Ross, are not seen as a very attractive place so we have to be able to have something to sell it.’
Having built several factory premises in the past, all of which were sold or leased, Mr O’Farrell is confident the new advance factory will be occupied in the not too distant future.
Mr O’Farrell said pen will be put to paper on the contract in the coming weeks once solicitors complete the paperwork. ‘Everything going well, we are hoping to have the first building up by the summer of next year. The council are paying part of the leave for a number of years until an investor comes in so it’s in all of our interests to get an investor in.’
Mr O’Farrell praised the enthusiasm of Mr Larkin, adding that Wexford County Council has been ‘more than accommodating’ in the whole process.
He said the main reason Farwall are investing in Butlersland is to bring activity and jobs to the town and area. ‘We were offered a site in Enniscorthy but we are all from New Ross and the New Ross area. It was the first thing I said at the meeting with Tony Larkin. He said there was something in Enniscorthy
but I said I am here because I am from New Ross ad it suits us. We have a lot of interests in New Ross, including property so we’re happy to put on the Wexford jersey.’
The sod is due to be turned on the site in the next nine months. There is road access and planning is not going to be a problem. As for getting an investor in, Mr O’Farrell said: ‘We are getting good vibes. Invest Wexford are looking for an investor. We need to build it as businesses need to have a reason to come to New Ross. We know people in business in Carlow and Kilkenny and no one wants to come here at the moment. They won’t come unless you have something to attract them here. The traffic is gone. We built that business park on the Waterford Road rather than our Fastway vans having to through town. The traffic was mayhem so we had the vans going against the traffic instead of going into it at peak times.’