Interim solution for Mitchelstown still not found
The latest news on the promised ‘interim works’ for the Mitchelstown Waste Water Treatment Plant which would allow new housing in the town to proceed, brings little solace to those who fear for the town’s future development.
It was stated at the May meeting of the Northern Committee that updates would be due ‘in a few weeks’. However, people of Mitchelstown are still awaiting news on what the ‘interim solution’ will look like.
At that meeting, County Engineer Kevin Morey stated that funding had been committed by Irish Water for interim works, to ‘bring the plant up to its maximum design capacity’.
While a long-term solution will not be completed until 2025 at the very least, it was agreed with Irish Water that an interim solution would be investigated to allow some local housing developments to progress.
Irish Water this week confirmed that long-term works for the plant in Mitchelstown had been ‘prioritised’ and that the promised ‘interim solution’ was at 'the feasibility planning stage'.
Cork County Council have granted planning permission to Ornua for an extension to their Mitchelstown plant at Kerrygold Park that will see the creation of 30 full time jobs.
The extension will mean a €40m investment in the Kerrygold manufacturing hub in the town. The extension is envisioned as a large-scale build of a new churn and processing infrastructure, office space, personal facilities, more car parking and 17 bicycle parking spaces.
The project is set to see 120 jobs created during construction, and another 30 full time jobs upon completion. All access to and from the site will remain at the existing entrance from the N73 (Kildorrery) roundabout.
The planning application was made in March 2021 and granted earlier this week on 29th June.
Ornua, formerly the Irish Dairy Board, opened Kerrygold Park in 2016 with an initial €38 million investment in the plant. It currently employs over 2,400 members of staff worldwide, with annual sales of over €2 billion. In 2020, the company reported a 70% increase in operating profit, to just over €83 milllion.
‘STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT PROJECT’
A spokesperson for Ornua thanked the council and stakeholders, but confirmed that a date for construction to begin has not yet been finalised.
“Ornua welcomes the decision of Cork County Council to grant planning permission for the expansion of production facilities at Kerrygold Park in Mitchelstown and would like to thank stakeholders for engaging with us during the planning process. We will now look to move forward with this strategically important project, delivering substantial economic benefit for both the Mitchelstown area and the Irish farming community.”
Cllr Deirdre O’Brien celebrated the news for Mitchelstown saying: “I very much welcome this great news, Ornua has been a good news story for the town since it was opened in 2016.”