2 weeks Ago By Michelle Weir and Local Democracy Reporter
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. The application has been lodged by an agent on behalf of Connor Martin, of JAQ Group Holdings, the company behind The Essence Vault and Liquid London fragrances. A design and access statement submitted with the application said: “The founder and managing director is Ballymena native Connor Martin who started out selling perfume in 2019 under the brand The Essence Vault.
He has achieved extraordinary growth – The Essence Vault has become a £100m brand in five years.” Advertisement Advertisement Mr Martin has proceeded to create two further fragrance brands: ‘Thomson Carter’ which achieved £5m within 16 months of launch and ‘Liquid London’ – reached £2m in just seven months. It has been named as’TikTok’s Beauty Brand of the Year’, the report says.
The proposal is seeking outline planning permission for the erection of a manufacturing facility and associated office and storage buildings, access improvements and provision of car parking, landscaping and associated site works at Moorfields Road, outside the town. Currently, the business is based at Craigstown Industrial Estate, Randalstown, where 230 people are employed. It first occupied one of the units and has now purchased the industrial estate and expanded into additional units.
For the best coverage of life in Northern Ireland, sign up to our newsletter now Advertisement Advertisement “However, it requires a lot more space to fulfil its growth plans and so has acquired the application site at Ballymena in order to deliver a purpose-built facility for fragrance production. The Randalstown site would also continue to operate,” the statement explained. The proposed site, which is comprised of four agricultural fields, is located east of Ballymena, to the south of Moorfields Road and close to the Larne Road Roundabout and the M2 motorway.
The statement noted that the JAQ Group “requires additional space to support its growth plans”. The Ballymena site would become the company’s principal facility and would be used for making perfume and skincare products. The report said that the production process is not “noisy or odorous”.
It continued: “Ballymena is a sustainable location for the proposal. The majority of the applicant’s existing employees are from the town. The proposal will not have a significant adverse impact on landscape character or rural character.
“The preliminary scheme has been designed so that the lower buildings will be sited closer to the road to minimise visual impact.” Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting.
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