KERRY County Council is preparing a plan for the former Pretty Polly plant in Killarney which is likely to involve levelling the existing building and creating a greenfield site in an attempt to attract potential investors, KillarneyToday.com understands.
It has emerged that concerns have arisen about asbestos in the roof of the long-standing building which has now gone beyond repair and site assessors have advised local authority officials that a fresh start is best for the prime site located in the Upper Park Road area.
The former plant, which once employed 2,000 people, has been idle since 2009 and it was handed over to the council by the former owners to help in the creation of employment opportunities.
The building is held in trust by Killarney Municipal Area authority but the 25,000sq ft building lies empty – just as it did between 1995 and 1999 when Pretty Polly pulled out of the site before returning as Sara Lee.
The site has a long history of employment in the town ever since hosiery manufacturer Pretty Polly opened its doors there in 1967.
Employing over 2,000 people in the town during its boom era of the 70s, that number had dwindled 152 when it first closed in 1995.
With Pretty Polly bought by Chicago-based Sara Lee, the company returned with 300 jobs in 1999 but again announced its closure in January 2005 with the loss of 92 jobs, due to an oversupply of its product on the market.
Beocare took over the plant in 2005 where it manufactured medical products and employed 46 workers. When it closed there were just 20 people in the workforce.
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