Ballingarrane Park

CLONMEL -- We are working on the periphery to develop one of Clonmel's top industrial and commercial sites. It involves efforts led by South Tipperary County Council and the Irish Industrial Development Agency (IDA). If plans come to fruition, my desktop space will migrate two miles towards Limerick on the high-volume ring road that bypasses Clonmel. My new space will be inside the former Watson estate at Ballingarrane. I would be part of a flagship development that surpasses anything in southeast Ireland.

The IDA applied for planning permission for site development on 50 of the estate's 280 acres to provide a light industry, business and technology park. The County Council bought the Watson property in late 2000. The IDA paid the Council €6m for the prime 50 acre site which stretches from the Cahir roundabout along the western fringes of the Clonmel ring road. It will cost hundreds of millions of euro to build the proposed technology park.

Planners consider Tipperary Institute's move to be one of the key elements of the proposal. Other plans for the site include a hotel and leisure complex and recreational and park facilities.

From a student's point of view, a move away from the current campus location of Tippeary Institute means sorting out alternative foraging locations. Ballingarrane is far removed from easy accommodation and more than a 40 minute walk to inexpensive meals. This means a regular bus service must be written into the infrastructure for the park but that should be possible, given the awareness shown by council staff in the past.

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Posted by Bernie Goldbach.
Michael Heverin -- "Technology park huge boost for South Tipp" in The Nationalist, August 7, 2004.
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