Three Stills’ plans for £10m distillery approved

Plans for a new £10 million distillery at a former industrial site in the Scottish borders has been approved, the first in the area since 1837.

The Three Stills Company secured funding to build a distillery on a brownfield site in Hawick last year, with the Scottish Borders Council giving approval to the plans this week.

“The development is appropriate for this town centre site and would be in keeping with the mixed use nature of the area,” it said.

“The proposal would result in the creation of jobs and would attract visitors to the town. “The proposal would result in the renovation and re-use of the listed buildings which are on the ‘at risk’ register.”

Former William Grant executives John Fordyce, Tim Carton, Tony Roberts and George Tait are leading the project, with work expected to start this year. It will become the first distillery in the Scottish borders for nearly 200 years, with several other companies also now working to open distilleries in the area.

Mossburn Distillers lodged its plans last month for a £40m distillery south of Jedburgh. Last year a competition launched by R&B Distillers saw the public pick Peebles as their preferred site for a distillery.

Funding for The Three Stills distillery was sourced throughout various private investors led by Edinburgh-based investment company Badenoch & Co; the Ballande family in France; Switzerland headquartered Drake Enterprises; and the Duke of Buccleuch, Richard Scott.

The company has said the project will create 20 jobs.