A proposed £150 million investment by Errigal Group to develop a new business park in Co Antrim should go ahead, planning officials have said.
The Irish construction firm, which bought the 70 acre former Enkalon site in Antrim during 2019, said the project will result in around 700 new jobs once operational.
The construction group’s proposal involves three new storage and distribution warehouses, five new light industrial units, two new retail showrooms, new research and design offices and the refurbishment of and alterations to four existing storage and distribution units.
In the region of 945,000 sq ft of new build floor space will be created, with 835,000 sq ft of existing space refurbished.
Headquartered in Killybrone in Co Monaghan, close to the border with Tyrone, Errigal is headed by Damian Treanor and Derry native Cormac McCloskey.
It operates across the hotel, education, commercial, residential, pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, with more than 320 projects completed in 12 countries to date.
The group also has bases in London and Co Derry, where it is a major sponsor of the GAA.
Errigal submitted a full planning application for its Enkalon Business Park project in July 2023.
On Monday (June 17), Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s planning committee will consider a report by its officials, recommending that permission be granted for the scheme.
Around 200 construction roles are expected to be involved in the development over a six year period.
Errigal said up to 1,100 full-time and part-time employees could eventually be based at the site once it’s fully operational.
It anticipates that those jobs will generate in the region of £46m in annual wages for the economy.
The latest accounts filed by the Irish construction group in the UK show its turnover increased by 45.4% to £119m in 2022, producing a pre-tax profit of £7.3m.
The construction group had 344 staff on its books in the UK during 344.
