Kerry Group is to hand over control of a two-and-a-half acre site of the former Denny plant in Tralee, which closed just over five years ago to the town council.
“It’s a large prime site in the middle of the town centre, so we were very anxious to secure a future for the site that would perhaps lead to a regeneration of the town centre,” said Frank Hayes, director of corporate affairs at Kerry Group when speaking on Radio Kerry this week.
“We felt this would be a catalyst for a redevelopment of the town own centre. So we are quite happy to donate the site to the people of the town and Tralee. We hope it will facilitate an in depth plan for Tralee town centre.”
Kerry Group is also set to invest €5m on the refurbishment of its headquarters in Tralee.
Hayes outlined the plans: “The original office was built in 1978 and for a company of our size and in terms of our international position we needed to reinvest in the fabric and in terms of the appearance of the site to make it fit for purpose.”
He also commented that it was not possible for the Naas development to be located in Kerry. “The Naas project was a big win for Ireland,” he said. “It was not a project that could have come to Kerry. It is a project, which is based on meeting customer requirements for research and development. As such it needed to be near a major access hub into every country.”
Image: Kerry Group
