A CALL has been made for the Scottish Government to act swiftly to buy the closure-hit Pinneys factory at Annan.
The proposal is being put forward by Dumfriesshire Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell and Dumfriesshire constituency MSP Oliver Mundell.
Both politicians warned last night that with an expression of interest in the Stapleton Road site by cooked and sliced meat producers Brown Brothers now withdrawn, urgent steps needed to be taken to safeguard the site.
David Mundell said: “The last thing Annan needs after losing so many jobs is to have a large boarded up factory at the entrance to the town being left to slowly deteriorate.
“We are writing to the Scottish Government calling on them to take on the ownership, management and marketing of the Pinneys site after Young’s leave.
“As their contribution to the community, we are asking Young’s to release the site at a knock down price. The new South of Scotland Enterprise Agency or Scottish Enterprise should then promote or redevelop the factory.”
Mr Mundell added: “A proactive approach is needed if we are going to get jobs, in whatever form, back on the site.”
Young’s Seafood announced the closure of the Pinneys factory in April with the loss of 450 permanent jobs and a large number of agency posts.
Oliver Mundell said: “The speed and scale of this number of redundancies in a relatively small town like Annan is devastating, both to those involved and the wider economy.
“It is an exceptional blow to a community, which rightly deserves an exceptional intervention at national level.
“There seems not to be any credible options currently left on the table following the withdrawal of interest by Browns.
“The Scottish Government has taken on sites in such situations before. In the case of loss-making Prestwick Airport they bought the business as well as facilitating financial support to other companies.”
