Bamberg County Council is finalizing the rezoning of property near the Old Holland Hitch plant when it meets Tuesday night. The land will be rezoned from Rural Urban Development to Industrial in an effort to make the property more marketable to potential industrial prospects and site locators. A portion of the property is owned by Wachovia Bank with the rest privately owned. The land is currently an irrigated corn field. Council will conduct a public hearing regarding the rezoning request prior to a final reading of the ordinance. The county’s Industrial zone is designed to better “accommodate existing industrial uses and further the industrial development of the county by protecting both existing industry from encroachment of incompatible land uses and potential sites for future industrial development.

Southern Carolina Regional Development Alliance Marketing and Special Projects Manager Kay Maxwell noted the agency has “quite a few” business prospects looking at this area and SCRDA is “trying to identify” some really good properties with rail access.

Maxwell said more and more companies want to move on projects in a quicker fashion and they want such things as proper zoning in place for when they arrive.

Bamberg County Administrator Rose Dobson-Elliott said the property is attractive for industrial development because It has rail access, is next door to an already existing industrial site, has access to U.S. 78 and is not in a residential area.

“We have been actively working around the county, trying to identify additional properties,” Dobson-Elliott said.