Drinks giant Diageo today announced plans to construct a £30 million expansion at one of its distilleries in Scotland.
The company behind brands including Bell’s, J&B and Johnnie Walker is applying for planning permission from Highland Council to increase production at its most-northerly distillery in the UK; Clynelish in Sutherland.
It comes as part of the UK drinks giant’s £1 billion financing programme for Scotch whisky. These plans at Clynelish fall under the group’s £150 million investment in the Highland Council area, which also includes the expansion of the Glen Ord and Teaninich Distilleries, as well as plans to build a new distillery at Alness.
Keith Miller, Diageo’s director of distillation and maturation, said: “Clynelish is a very special distillery, producing spirit that is highly prized for its quality and character and is an important part of our Scotch whisky blending inventory, so this is an important part of our investment programme.
The Scotsman reports that a bio-energy plant is also planned for the site to provide non-fossil fuel energy to power the distillery.
As part of the planning process Diageo will hold a community engagement session in February to share further details of the Clynelish proposals with the local community.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
