Council makes 90000 profit on factory sale

MAYO County Council has sold its ownership of the former Volex plant in Castlebar for a sum of €700,000 to Opensparkz Holdings Limited for the purpose of developing a Global Sustainability Centre (GSC) at the location.

The deal was agreed by 24 votes to five at a meeting of the authority and represents a tidy profit of €90,000 for the authority, which paid €610,000 for the building last November.

A proposal to defer the sale for a month was defeated by 17 votes to 12.
The council had acquired the property last year ‘to harness the economic opportunities this site and building presented in terms of investment and job creation’.

The council was approached earlier this year by the promoters of GSC with a proposal to develop ten various sustainable development companies in the food, water, and energy sectors. Examples of companies planning to locate to Castlebar as part of the GSC include Aquiva Foundation (UK), Viridis Aquaponics (US), Ifood Systems (Canada) & Flexiway Solar Solutions (Austrailia).

The former Volex building was once a vital and vibrant piece of infrastructure within the county town.

In selling, the council’s goal was to restore the economic attractiveness of this building to its former self and Opensparkz Holdings Ltd is planning an  investment of €30 million over the next 18 months with the creation of between 100 and 200 jobs in the next two years.