Green light for £3.5m facility redevelopment

Plans have been approved for a £3.5m, job-creating project in Newtonabbey for a long-standing farmer-owned organisation.AI Services (NI) has secured permission from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council for the partial redevelopment of an existing site on the Antrim Road which will include four new sheds, livestock holding pens and two-storey office and staff facilities.The business, which has 2,500 farmer shareholders, has been operating from its existing site in Newtownabbey since 1988, supplying an efficient and effective artificial insemination service to livestock producers throughout Northern Ireland.Additionally, the site holds EU approval as a Stud Farm, facilitating exports to various countries including New Zealand, Canada, North America, and Australia.The redevelopment will support the creation of six new positions to the existing workforce, reflecting AI Services’ commitment to growth and investment. Furthermore, the redesigned buildings will adhere to the highest standards of health, safety, and animal welfare.Planning Committee chairperson, councillor Robert Foster, said: “As a long-standing local company, it is great to see AI Services invest further in its facility located in the borough, providing invaluable services to the agricultural sector within Northern Ireland and further afield.”