UK: Midhope Castle Distillery submits planning application

Plans have been submitted for a new whisky distillery on the Hopetoun estate in South Queensferry, Scotland, the East Lothian News reported on July 22.

If approved, the Midhope Castle Distillery will become one of a small number of single malt distilleries in the Lothians.

Others include Glenkinchie in Tranent, and Chain Pier, Bonnington and Holyrood in Edinburgh.

A planning application has been submitted to West Lothian council for the development, which will sit adjacent to the 16th century Midhope Castle.

It is intended that the distillery will also include a long-term plan to restore the castle, which is currently an empty shell, and bring it and its grounds back into use.

The distillery would use only barley grown on the Hopetoun Estate, which already has a long tradition of growing and supplying malting barley to the Scottish whisky trade.

The company also intends to focus on environmental sustainability, with the aim of reducing its production carbon footprint to a minimum.

The project is being delivered by Currie & Brown, using Edinburgh-based 56three Architects.

A spokesperson for the Midhope Castle Distillery Company said: “We will set out to design and build a distillery that makes great whisky while addressing sustainability through every element of its architecture, its construction and its operation.

“With an innovative approach across the board we would aim to reduce our production carbon footprint to the absolute minimum, if not to zero.

“We believe that this approach goes hand in hand with producing a distinctive and characterful single malt Scotch Whisky capable of reflecting the qualities and traditions of one of Scotland’s great historic estates.”

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