Mid & East Antrim's new Manufacturing Task Force meets for first time

Today’s meeting was hosted by the Mayor, Councillor Billy Ashe, and Council’s Chief Executive, Anne Donaghy, and was attended by councillors William McCaughey, John Stewart, Audrey Wale, Stephen Nicholl and Alderman Maureen Morrow;

Cllr Ashe said: “The Task Force was established following a meeting which the Chief Executive and I had with Ministers Bell, Farry and Storey in November where we discussed the implications around Michelin’s planned exit from the Borough, on top of the exit already announced by JTI.

“Whilst Michelin and JTI are high on the agenda of this Group, it will have a much wider remit than purely these two companies.

“I know we are all mindful of the strong manufacturing base in the Mid & East Antrim area and we must adopt a more proactive approach to supporting our indigenous companies and encouraging them to grow,” he said.

Referring to the weekend rally in Ballymena, organised by the union, UNITE, he added: “Feelings are running high and people are concerned for their long term future.

“Council officers have been working with all agencies since the announcements, in fact the Chief Executive met with Alastair Hamilton from Invest NI only last week. Further consultations have been taking with Northern Regional College, DEL, and the local, sectoral and international investment teams from Invest NI.”

Chief Executive, Anne Donaghy also revealed that she and the Mayor had been part of a high level meeting with the Executive First Minister, Arlene Foster last week: “We are pleased to say that she displayed specific interest in this Manufacturing Task Force.

“Minister Foster has requested that she, along with some of her Ministerial Team each receive regular updates from this Group,” the Chief Executive added.

Specific work discussed during the Task Force’s inaugural meeting included:

Formally carrying out an Economic Impact Assessment on the economic implications of the job losses in the Borough;

Analysing and communicating this data to allow the Task Force to strategically input into the Programme for Government going forward, in the belief that it is important to keep the manufacturing sector at the forefront of Ministers’ minds;

And, the establishment of a Mid and East Antrim Sales Proposition, particularly when a reduction in corporation tax is being planned by the NI Executive, to ensure that Mid and East Antrim is well placed to be at the forefront of potential future inward investment opportunities.

Councillors also agreed that Mid & East Antrim Borough Council cannot do this alone and that by coming together collectively in this Group the Task Force can co-ordinate the efforts of Agencies across the Borough and achieve defined actions and increased synergy from activities.