By Scott Wright
PLANS to develop the first new first grain distillery in Scotland in 10 years – and the first of its kind in the Scottish Borders – have been approved by local council chiefs.
Nearly £50 million will be invested to build the St Boswells Distillery and serve the growing demand for grain spirit for Scotch whisky blending, as well as to supply grain neutral spirit to gin and vodka producers.
The distillery, to be based at Charlesfield Industrial Estate in the Borders, would have the capacity to produce 20 million litres of pure alcohol per year.
Jackson Distillers, which is behind the plans, hopes the distillery will ultimately bring 20 permanent jobs to the area. And it declared the facility will be Scotland’s lowest carbon grain distillery, using up-to-date distilling technology, add value to locally grow cereals, and send zero waste to landfill. Construction is scheduled will start in 2022, with the first spirit to be produced in 2024.
Trevor Jackson, founder and chief executive of Jackson Distillers, said: “This is another significant step forward in the process to create the Scottish Borders’ first major grain distillery. We have had great support for our proposals from local stakeholders across the region and have worked closely with Scottish Borders Council to ensure we created plans that fit into the landscape, present climate change mitigation opportunities and support the local community.
“We are grateful to everyone who has helped us to get to this stage and will continue to work with local stakeholders as we now progress with construction.
“At the heart of the distillery project is its environmental impact. The site will take high-quality local cereals from the surrounding Tweed Valley and process them efficiently and sustainably with renewable energy into the spirit.
“The cereals, once spent, will be passed to the adjacent anaerobic digestion plant, where they will be converted into methane, with the remaining material being used as soil conditioner for the crops. In addition, process water from an on-site bore-hole will be efficiently recycled to minimise the use of this important resource.”
Approval of the plans comes after details of the project were announced in June. St Boswells will be only the second grain distillery to be built in Scotland in 25 years and add to the seven currently in operation north of the Border. Those are Cameronbridge (owned by Diageo), Girvan (William Grant & Sons), Invergordon (Whyte & Mackay), Loch Lomond (Loch Lomond Group), North British Distillery (North British Co), Starlaw (Glen Turner Co) and Strathclyde (Chivas Brothers).
Mr Jackson said has been working with investment bank Noble & Co to raise £46 million for the build.
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