Bord na Móna has played, continues to play and has the potential to play a significant role in the economic development of the County. As set out earlier, with the unique nature of our landholding, industrial, remote and with access to key infrastructure; opportunities exist to support industries that require scale which is not readily achievable elsewhere in the country let alone the county.
As part of the land transition programme, Bord na Móna is continually reviewing its property strategy to determine future industrial uses for the holdings. Whilst buildings such as workshops and stores comprise a small portion of the holding, these buildings present opportunities for the re-purposing of these facilities for new sustainable industries. In recent months, the company has repurposed its former briquette production facility in Littleton in County Tipperary as a plastics recycling facility supporting 40 new jobs. Similar opportunities will exist for more of our facilities as we exit peat extraction and in this regard we welcome the intent of policy CPO10.23 which seeks to “support the repurposing of the Lough Ree Power Station and Bord na Móna Mount Dillon infrastructure and associated work depots for alternative uses in association with the Just Transition process”.
Where possible the industrial potential of Bord na Móna’s property will be harnessed to support job creation, whether a proposed project requires the provision of buildings, sites, infrastructure, green energy or other industrial uses.
By acknowledging this potential the Council should stand positioned to support appropriate commercial and industrial development on Bord na Móna’s land and can do so secure in the knowledge that suitable commercial and industrial development can be harmoniously co-located within a biodiverse and ecologically rich rehabilitated peatland landscape: as demonstrated by our property at Mount Lucas in County Offaly and as proposed in our wind farm development in Bruckana.