£60m Bushmills distillery expansion gets the green light

  • A £60m expansion plan has been approved for the Bushmills distillery that will double its output of single malt and premium blended Irish whiskeys.

    The old Bushmills distillery is one of Northern Ireland's top landmarks and possibly the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, having been in operation since 1608. The brand was bought out by Mexican company Jose Cuervo back in 2014, and proposed a £30m expansion to the distillery in 2015 in order to increase capacity.

    Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council have now approved the £30m extension as part of an overall £60m expansion plan that will double the distillery's output. The additional capacity will not only help it grow in the long term but will also increase its export potential and support its regular tours for tourists.

    The expansion is expected to provide a variety of construction jobs while it's underway, and additional staff to run the new facilities. The plan submitted in 2015 indicated that it would create an additional 20 jobs, but faced over 100 objections on environmental grounds.

    The new plans will involve the construction of a new distillery, a new boiler house, a barrel store, and additional cooling systems. The company also got the green on plans to build an additional 29 warehouses last year, which will give them the capacity to store more whiskey while it matures.

    Source: BBC News, Belfast Telegraph

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