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A proposed £150 million whisky facility, which can hold up to half a million barrels of spirits, will open this week.
Planners recommended that the application be approved, despite several warring parties claiming it would have an effect on health and the environment, at the East Ayrshire Council’s planning committee on Friday.
As whiskey is deemed unsafe at such levels, the status quo will have to comply with regulations to ensure the protection of staff and the public.
Beam Suntory will build a 70,000 m² whisky maturation facility just off the M77, north of Kilmarnock, at South Drumboy Farm.
The facility would have offices and a warehouse. The whiskey would be taken to bulk tankers and then kept for several years to mature.
The tankers would also be used to export alcohol to Scottish sites.
Beam Suntory says it would have 20 employees in the office and 20 operational from the start. It would operate from 7 a. m. to 7 p. m. , with truck deliveries between 8 a. m. and 6 p. m. , Monday through Friday.
The progression plan includes 14 warehouses, divided into cells with a capacity of 40,000 barrels, for a total of 568,000 “standard barrels”.
The warehouses would be about 200 metres from the A77.
The application has raised a significant number of objections, mainly around the possible effect on emissions resulting from the maturation of whisky.
A total of 34 objections were raised, from the community councils of Fenwick, Moscow and Waterside.
These are largely based on the potential effects on public health and welfare, the release of ethanol into the environment, the advancement of industry in rural areas, and the fact that this development would lead to ten years of “disruption. “”.
It is understood that some loss of alcohol from casks is a common component of the whisky-making process, with an ethanol loss averaging around 2% per year.
In 2021, then-Environment Minister Mairi McAllan MSP said: “The main release into the air resulting from the maturation of Scotch whisky is the fugitive emission of ethanol, which is very temporarily dispersed into the environment and is not destructive to human health via exposure. “
Despite those objections, planners are calling for the request to be approved, saying it would revitalize the local economy.
They said, “The proposed progression would not have a significant adverse effect on the visual comforts of the domain or the residential amenities of nearby receivers, would not result in an unacceptable traffic hazard, and would not result in any unacceptable problems. “loss or effect on habitats or ecological species.
“While it is claimed that the proposal is of a really extensive scale, the proposal has been sympathetically designed so that it can be absorbed into the rural landscape in which it will be located.
“The location of the buildings will not have a significant effect on the level of services currently enjoyed through the residential houses in the vicinity of the site, and the proposal is considered appropriate in terms of landscape effect and visual amenity.
“The proposed advancement will most likely provide an economic boost to East Ayrshire during the period of structure and operation as it will create more employment opportunities.
“While the objections raise a variety of valid considerations for the development of plans, none is considered to carry sufficient weight to imply that the application should be denied. “
Craig Martin, Managing Director of Manufacturing Operations – UK & Ireland at Beam Suntory, said: “Over the past 12 months, we have spent a lot of time collaborating with the local network and stakeholders to refine our plans and create a sustainable environment. ripening plant.
“Obtaining permission to make plans from East Ayrshire Council will drive economic expansion in the region and create significant long-term employment opportunities.
“Nationally, the proposals are a key component of Beam Suntory’s investment plans in Scotland and we hope that the local government will share our vision of attracting investment and jobs to the whisky sector in East Ayrshire. “
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