Plans to build distillery beside Dornoch Firth

A planning application has been submitted to build a new malt whisky distillery next to the Dornoch Firth in Scotland.

The Midfearn Distillery Company has submitted plans to Highland Council for permission to build its distillery on the Midfearn Estate at Easter Fearn. The site sits three miles southeast of Ardgay village.

A public consultation phase will begin with a face-to-face consultation event at Edderton Village Hall on 1 December from 3pm to 7pm GMT.

Supporting information will be available on the midfearndistillery.co.uk website from Friday 19 November.

An additional virtual consultation will be held on 20 January 2022 from 3pm to 7pm GMT, and will include a live chat feature.

Charlie Brooke, custodian of the 13,000-acre Midfearn Estate, said: “The Scotch whisky industry has advanced significantly since the opening of the first Midfearn Distillery and we will not only set out to make a distinctive and high-quality whisky, but we will prioritise environmental sustainability and work towards carbon neutrality at every stage of the project.

“This is a family business that will build and grow this enterprise on a beautiful site within the Dornoch Firth National Scenic Area and we look forward to working with the local community to return whisky-making to Easter Fearn, with all the benefits that will bring to the economy of the area.”

Midfearn Estate has been in the Brooke family since 1893. Charlie Brooke added that the distillery would be economically beneficial to the wider community.

The estate already provides electricity from existing wind and hydro-power projects, and the long-term sustainability of its energy source will form an important element of the distillery’s development.

On Monday, plans to build the first grain distillery in Scotland in 10 years were approved.