Dawn Meats, one of the country’s largest meat processors, has partnered with property developer Bluemont on plans to build over 400 homes near Midleton, Co Cork.
The huge Waterford-based meat processor has been seeking to progress plans to build at its currently unused Water Rock site for many years, having first made a planning bid to Cork County Council in late 2021.
The plans were approved before being appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála in 2022.
The appeal was withdrawn the following year, paving the way for development to begin.
Meat processors partnered with the Dublin developer to amend the current planning permission based on recent guidelines
Since then, Dawn Meats has teamed up with Bluemont to “prepare the site for development”, a spokesman for the group said. It partnered with the Dublin developer to amend the current planning permission based on recent guidelines.
Last week, Bluemont received planning permission from Cork County Council to make amendments to a portion of Dawn’s huge housing development. The latest move brings the site one step closer to completion.
Vincent Cronolly, senior development manager with Bluemont, said the latest planning approval would improve the layout of the scheme and “enhance the overall design of the dwellings”.
Cronolly said construction had already begun on site, with the first phase of the homes set to be ready for sale in September 2026.
Bluemont’s sister company, Townmore, is carrying out some of the construction work in Midleton.
The family-owned meat processing giant has an annual turnover worth over €3bn. Photo: Getty
Bluemont, which also has offices in Tullamore and London, has a pipeline of over 2,000 homes across Ireland and the UK. Its CEO is Keith Screeney.
The late Dan Browne founded Dawn Meats along with brothers Peter and John Queally in 1980.
The company is based in Waterford and counts Dan’s son Niall Browne as CEO.
The family-owned meat processing giant has an annual turnover worth over €3bn, processing 300,000 tonnes of meat a year.
The company also employs more than 8,000 staff in 10 countries. It supplies major retailers, manufacturers and food service operators, exporting to over 50 countries.
In December, Dawn Meats completed a deal to acquire a majority stake in New Zealand’s biggest meat processor, Alliance Group.
The Waterford group agreed to pay NZ$270m (€132m at the time) for a 65pc shareholding.
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