IDA’s acquisition of estate could herald jobs bonanza for town

MORE THAN 1,000 jobs could be created following the acquisition of a 300-acre estate outside Clonmel by the IDA.

South Tipperary County Council chairman Derry Foley is predicting the jobs bonanza over the coming years and welcomed the decision of the IDA to buy Ballingarrane Estate from the local authority.

Originally the home of the Watson family, the county council purchased the estate three years ago for a reported 6 million and subsequently planning permission was granted for commercial development on just over 20 hectares of the land.

The council expended a significant amount for infrastructural upgrade of the property, including the provision of additional water and sewage facilities.

Bought by the IDA in the last fortnight for an undisclosed sum, the county council chairman believes its acquisition by the national job creation agency will mark the beginning of a new industrial dawn in South Tipp.

“We are delighted that the IDA has stepped in and that the sale of the lands to them has been completed,” Cllr Foley said.

Last week Education Minister Mary Hanafin gave the green light for the transfer of the Tipperary Institute from its present location on the new bypass road outside Clonmel to Ballingarrane Estate.

As part of an agreement reached with the minister, a developer will be given the present Tipperary Institute site in exchange for the construction of a new campus at Ballingarrane.

If and when that hurdle has been cleared the transfer is expected to be completed inside three years.

The 250-pupil Gaelscoil Cluain Meala in Irishtown is also being earmarked for transfer to the estate, while planning permission has already been granted to Pragma Management Ltd. for a new 120-bedroom hotel and function/conference centre on a 2.1 hectare site.