SOUTH Derry firm Bloc Blinds is planning a new manufacturing, production and distribution hub.
The Magherafelt company has identified a site outside the town for the production of blinds and personal protection equipment (PPE).
The company recently converted the Meadowbank Sports Arena in Magherafelt into a major PPE production line.
It followed a partnership with Finnish packaging giant Huhtamaki to make 13 million face shields for Health and Social Care NI’s business service organisation.
The partnership was forged by Bloc Blinds’ managing director Cormac Diamond and Huhtamaki’s general manager Ciaran Doherty, who are both natives of south Derry.
Bloc Blinds put planning officials at Mid Ulster District Council on notice of its plans for a new facility on Friday through the submission of a pre-application notification (PAN).
The notice is typically the first stage of a community consultation process ahead of the submission of major planning applications.
The proposal relates to a site on the Aughrim Road, some two miles east of the company’s Station Road headquarters in Magherafelt.
An industrial facility already exists on the opposite side of the road.
The PAN also describes the development of car-parking and landscaped areas, along with a new access onto the Aughrim Road.
