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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Cllr Aidan Mullins on the Avon site
Part of the sprawling site of the demolished Avon factory in Laois has been sold for €500,000 to the local authority.
Laois County Council has plans to develop a business park on the Portarlington site, which is close to the commuter town's train station to Dublin.
Sinn Féin Cllr Aidan Mullins has welcomed the announcement, made by CEO John Mulholland on Monday, November 27.
"Last year I met with the Chief Executive of Laois County Council, John Mulholland, to discuss the shortage of serviced industrial sites for new businesses in Portarlington. There are currently no available serviced sites in the Business Park on Canal Road.
"We visited the former Avon site in the town, which is now vacant, with a view to exploring the possibility of the Council purchasing all or part of the site.
"The Environmental Protection Agency is currently working on the decontamination of a 2 acre section of the site which should be completed in a few years.
"The announcement today that the Council has agreed to purchase a separate 6 acre section of the former Avon site for €500,000 is brilliant news for Portarlington and will greatly assist with the economic development of the town.
"The Council will seek funding from the EU Just Transition Fund to enable them to service the site i.e. provide internal access roads / footpaths, public lighting, power, water and sewage services, to provide ready-to-go fully serviced sites for prospective business opportunities.
"I congratulate John Mulholland and his staff for their foresight in acknowledging the potential of the site and in securing its purchase. John was committed to the project from the beginning and I commend his efforts over the past year in negotiating the deal.
"I look forward to seeing the site's development and the growth of commercial and business opportunities including job creation on the Canal Road," he said.
The American jewellery and make-up factory shut down in 1999. It was demolished in 2014 after being destroyed by a fire.
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