Planning submitted for £150million business park in Antrim which could create up to 1,200 Northern Ireland jobs

A formal planning application has been submitted by Errigal Group for the £150million extension and redevelopment of the Enkalon Business Park in Antrim.

Following a successful consultation process which saw extensive engagement with local stakeholders, the planning application has been submitted to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council for more than 900,000sq ft of new build warehouse and distribution space, the redevelopment of existing warehouses and a rooftop solar farm.

The proposed plans would see the completed park span a total of 1.7m sq ft and, subject to approval, Errigal Group hopes to be on site for Phase 1 of the build in early 2024.

Located adjacent to The Junction retail and Leisure Park, the southern section of the park is already occupied by companies such as Bath Shack, Sports Direct and Fastway.

With excellent transport links, including easy access to the M2 motorway, the proposed new build warehouse space is likely to appeal to a wide variety of local and international businesses.

Once completed and fully let, the development has the potential to create more than 1000 jobs in the Antrim area, as well as 200 jobs during construction.

Cormac McCloskey, joint managing director of Errigal Group, said: “The consultation process for our proposed redevelopment and extension of Enkalon Business Park has been overwhelmingly positive, with meaningful engagement from local representatives, residents and businesses. Following this engagement with key stakeholders, our team has refined and finalised our planning submission and we’re excited to take this project through the next stage.”

Damien Treanor, joint managing director, Errigal Group, added: “The redevelopment of the business park will breathe new life into the existing park and surrounding land and has the potential to create 1000 jobs in the local community. The economic benefit of the project to the Antrim and Newtownabbey area and sub region will be considerable and we hope to be on site in early 2024.”

Since acquiring the Enkalon site in 2019, Errigal Group has carried out £2m of upgrade works. The site as it stands currently is fully leased to tenants as warehousing, distribution and showroom space.

The company has also set up an off-site manufacturing unit to service construction projects in Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. The site currently employs over 400 people across all the business units with the number projected to grow in 2023.