TWO acres of land are sold by North Ayrshire Council (NAC) to enable the establishment of a new factory in Irvine.
This decision was agreed at a recent cabinet meeting.
Councilors have agreed to approve the proposed sale of two acres of land at the Strategic Investment Campus (SIC), subject to conditions appropriate to System Five Off Site.
Five Off Site Limited is a company set up by local company RDK Construction Ltd which requires land for the development of a new factory unit for the construction of modular housing.
The sale would take place at a recommended market value of £20,000 and the company estimated that 11 jobs would initially be created.
NAC purchased the SIC site from Scottish Enterprise in 2015. It has an overall area of 205 acres (83 ha) with a 600m long secondary road dissecting the site in the north and south areas.
The site previously benefited from a £7 million investment in access, site services and platform by the former Irvine Bay Regeneration Company.
The investment campus has the potential to meet large inbound investment demands.
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The wider ambitions and strategy for the site are currently being developed through the preparation of a site master plan, which is at an advanced stage of development, and a strategic framework, which will accompany the master plan, defining the strategic aspirations for the site.
The company estimates that 11 new jobs will be created initially, with about 22 by year three, while protecting existing jobs and providing new training opportunities. The facility would focus on creating net zero energy buildings and would supply RDK Construction Ltd, which currently has pipeline projects in North Ayrshire.
RDK Construction’s commercial activity was previously housed at Sharphill Industrial Estate, Saltcoats.
Most of the land has been sold to the Cunninghame Housing Association, who recently submitted a Nomination Proposal for the site in April 2022. Part of the area has been retained by Robert Ryan Homes Ltd (the same owners of RDK Construction) and has a building permit. for business development.
However, RDK Construction has indicated that they now consider the Saltcoats site to be not suitable for their proposal, in terms of its levels and the costs involved in addressing it, or suitable for their growth ambitions.
They currently run a small operation of Ardeer, but want to have a bespoke and purpose-built operation, hence their interest in CIS.