Scottish Government urged to take on Pinneys factory

THE Scottish Government is being urged to buy the Young’s Seafood Pinneys factory in Annan which faces closure within a few months with the loss of more than 400 jobs.
The demand came from two Conservatives,  MP David Mundell and his son MSP Oliver Mundell, who have also urged Young’s to release the site at a “knockdown price”.
The two politicians said the \”last thing Annan needed was the factory being left to slowly deteriorate\”. They said they were writing to the Scottish government urging it  to take on the ownership, management and marketing of the site
Meanwhile, the  Scottish Government repeated its pledge that it remains fully committed to looking at all option to keep the factory operating as a seafood production centre.
David Mundell ( Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) said: “ \”The new South of Scotland Enterprise Agency or Scottish Enterprise should  promote or redevelop the factory. A pro-active approach is needed if we are going to get jobs, in whatever form, back on the site.\”
His MSP son Oliver Mundell  (Dumfriesshire) added: “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.\”
The Scottish Government said it has been  working to identify and support any potential new investor to the site. A week ago it  announced £250,000 to help with the delivery of the Annan Action Plan and regenerate the local area following the closure of Pinneys.
The Government statement added: \”Our experienced multi-agency Partnership for Action on Continuing Employment (PACE) helped support a dedicated jobs fair in the town last week and we remain absolutely committed to exploring all possible options for the site and are working hard to try and achieve a positive outcome in this regard.\”
Meanwhile, Labour  MSP Colin Smyth (South of Scotland)  said he thought the site should be handed over by Young\’s with no suggestion of any payment being made for it. Young’s have yet to comment.