Drawing of the new Distillery
Glens of Antrim Distillery was given the green light for a new distillery and tourist attraction in Cushendall. The application was approved today (Wednesday 28th February) at a Planning Committee meeting of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Glens of Antrim Distillery, a business owned by the McKillop family who founded Glens of Antrim Potatoes, are seeking to build the new facility for the production of their Lir branded whiskey which has been growing in popularity.
According to the family company the proposal for the site at the junction of the Gortaclee Road and the Coast Road, Cushendall, "will be the home of our signature whiskey. We'll be distilling and filling our founder's casks with the same care and attention to detail that has made our potatoes so popular."
Floor plan for new distillery
It adds: "Our whiskey is a labour of love, a tribute to our family's heritage and the stunning landscapes that surround us in the Glens of Antrim."
Located within Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the distillery aims to capitalise on the area's strong tourism appeal and will offer tours of the facility, as well as welcoming visitors to an onsite gift shop, and restaurant, as well as providing a function room.
Although the proposal for the distillery is primarily a production facility, the application has focused on complimenting the existing landscape and environment.
The planning design statement notes:
"The scale and massing of the proposal was conceptualised with the surrounding buildings in mind and the approach to the building, separate blocks allow the proposal to present a traditional roof pitch and slimmer gable which is not typical of industrial buildings, rather the surrounding residential buildings.
"When approaching from either North or South the proposal will read as a clachan of buildings allowing it to blend further into the landscape. The varying openings and voids within these gables further helps the aim of breaking mass. In general, industrial buildings have minimal openings, closing them off to the public."
The statement adds:
"Our client wants to showcase the proposal, with the distilling process open to public view and the cask room providing an architecturai feature along the main Coast Road. These openings reduce the visual impact of the proposal, allowing it to appear lighter in the landscape."