Commenting on the application, the project’s chief executive Martin McAdam said:

“We are really excited by our proposal and believe that a new Ardgowan Distillery will have a very positive impact on the local economy.

“More than 150 people came to our public consultation event in September and we received more than 60 questionnaire responses which we have taken into account in our planning application. We’ve been really delighted at the positive response our plans have generated so far.”

The application will now be considered by the council, with a decision expected by spring 2017.
The company plans to build a state-of-the-art facility on the site of the old sawmill just south of the A78 Inverkip road, near the junction with the A770. Plans include a retail and visitor attraction, with the potential for new employment both during construction and once the distillery is operational in 2019.

“Our ambition is to build a world-class distillery and visitor attraction in the heart of Inverclyde. The area has tremendous heritage and natural resources including a great water supply and we are working with the Ardgowan Estate to create a globally-recognised new lowland malt which will put the area firmly on the whisky map,” McAdam says.

The proposal will resurrect the name of the Ardgowan Distillery, which was founded in 1896 and located in Baker Street, Greenock. After a few years of whisky production, the distillery was used to make grain spirt and industrial alcohol until it was destroyed in the May Blitz of 1941.

“If approved the new Ardgowan Distillery will be a tremendous flagship for Inverclyde and will bring new visitors to the area,” McAdam concludes.