Moray’s planners have given a green light to a £18million distillery development in Dufftown that will allow production to double.
Diageo say that their Mortlach Distillery will reach a new production capacity of 7.6million litres each year as a result of their expansion proposals being passed by Moray Council’s planning committee.
A company spokesman welcomed the decision, saying: “The expansion is going to double the amount of whisky we can produce at the site. Mortlach has a very unusual distilling regime in that it has six stills of various shapes and sizes – in the new still house we will be building exact replicas of them all.
”The investment will not see a large increase in jobs as much of the operation is automated, however there will obviously be benefits to the local community during the construction phase.”
Local SNP Councillor Mike McConachie welcomed the decision as “great news for Dufftown”. He added: “The expansion is going to bring more transport coming into and out of the town, which will have knock-on effects for local employment.”
The investment is the latest in a number of similar expansions in the region reflecting the growing status of the whisky industry around the world.
A year ago Diageo spent £14million at its Linkwood and Mannachmore sites in Elgin, while the company also began work this year on a £12million plant on the outskirts of Dufftown.