Local Labour MSP Colin Smyth has welcomed the sale of the former Pinneys site on Stapleton Road, Annan but has reiterated his call for a £10 million Economic Action Plan for the town.

The sale of the site to international firm Bhagat Holdings is set to be announced in Annan on Monday 18^th March. The firm is expected to create jobs at the site. However, it is unlikely that the number of workers employed by Atlantis Pak will match the numbers previously employed by Young’s Seafood.

The Pinneys of Annan factory was owned by Young’s Seafood, but it closed its doors in August last year. Approximately 450 direct posts and hundreds more agency and seasonal posts were also lost as a result of the closure.

Colin Smyth has previously called on the Scottish and UK Governments to be ready to invest up to £10 million in an Economic Action Plan.

Colin Smyth said, “The news that a buyer has been found for the Pinneys factory at long last will be welcomed by the community and the hope will be that the new owners can grow the workforce once more. However, the number of posts being created initially will be a fraction of the jobs lost at Pinneys. There is still an urgent need for the UK and Scottish Government to properly invest in the local economy and that’s why I have renewed my call for a £10 million Economic Action Plan for Annan.

The tragedy of the closure of Pinneys was the fact there simply weren’t enough alternative jobs in the area when the economic tsunami of its closure hit Annan. The closure meant people having to move away or travel long distances to find work. More needs to be done to grow existing businesses and attract new ones to the area so we don’t have to rely so heavily again on a very small number of big employers.”