Arrabawn Co-Operative Society has applied for planning permission from Tipperary County Council to upgrade its casein processing plant in Nenagh.

The application was received by the council at the end of June and a decision is expected by 23 August.

Currently, the processing plant has the capacity to produce 1.2t of casein powder from approximately 34,000 litres of milk per hour. The proposed extension of the facility would see this capacity double.

In the application, the co-op said that the upgrade would be needed to accommodate current year-on-year increases in volumes of milk from its suppliers.

Expected increases

Those increases are expected to take peak milk intake from 1.6m litres to 2.4m litres per day and this will be coupled with an overall increase in production to approximately 500 million litres a year.

The proposal also contains plans for upgrades to the existing wastewater treatment plant, as well as a new site entrance point via an existing roundabout on Kenyon Street to replace the entrance on Stafford Street.

As part of the new entrance development, Arrabawn also proposes an upgrade of its milk intake facilities, car parking and security control facilities.

An overall timeframe of 36 months is envisaged to complete all of the proposed development works, with the project taking place in two phases.