• 24 Jul, 2012
• Business, Nature

Ireland West Airport welcome the approval by Mayo County Council of the Local Area Plan for Ireland West Airport Knock at a Special meeting of the Council on Monday 23rd July.  The plan represents the first official planning guidance for the area around the airport and a designation of a 25 hectare site for the attraction of enterprise and jobs.

Airport Chairman Liam Scollan, speaking for the Board of the Airport said “We wish to thank the council members and officials who worked hard to put the plan together, especially the four members from the Swinford Ward, Councillors, Eugene Lavin, Gerry Murray, Jimmy Maloney and Joe Mellett.  We believe the plan provides a new opportunity not just for Mayo  but for the whole of the West, North West and Midlands regions of Ireland, to attract jobs  utilising the airport’s presence in the region.  The international reach now achieved by the airport with flights from 28 overseas markets including major European business centres such as Frankfurt, Paris, Milan and Dusseldorf provides the region with another selling point to attract not just aviation related enterprise but domestic and overseas companies to East Mayo benefiting the whole area within a one hour drive from the airport.”

Mr Scollan continued “This plan enables firms in business sectors such as technology, renewables, life sciences, engineering, media and arts to locate at the airport, alongside enterprises in aircraft related businesses such as maintenance, dis-assembly and parking.

While the zone will have the capacity to house 5,000 employees it is more realistic to target the creation of 1,000 jobs in the medium term. The making of the Local Area Plan is just the first step however.  The achievement of jobs will require significant investment from government and the creation of a Strategic Development Zone which would simplify and speed up the planning process to make it easier for inward investors to locate at the airport”