New distillery gets green light

The St. Boswells Distillery, based at Charlesfield Industrial Estate in the Scottish Borders, is intended to be Scotland’s lowest-carbon Grain Distillery. It will produce 20 million litres of pure alcohol a year to meet the growing demand for grain whisky for use in Scotch Whisky blending and a Scottish grain neutral spirit for gin and vodka.

The approved planning application will facilitate a £46m investment in the local economy, creating about 200 construction roles and 20 permanent jobs.

The 18-month construction period is scheduled to begin in 2022, and spirit will be produced in 2024.

Trevor Jackson, founder & CEO of Jackson Distillers, welcomed the planners’ decision. He 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 plans for the distillery project is its environmental impact. The site will take local cereals from the surrounding Tweed Valley and process them using renewable energy to create 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 borehole will be recycled.

Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk