Plans for a new brewery alongside a wedding venue near Laurencekirk have been given the go-ahead, proving they are indeed a perfect match.
Burnside Brewery, famous for its funky craft beers and traditional glass bottles, currently operates from Laurencekirk Business Park.
It has been going from strength to strength since its inception in 2010, scooping national and international awards.
As business continues to thrive, owners began to look for more space to expand their brewery to meet ever increasing customer demand.
And following a chance meeting with a construction company nearby, they received a proposal they couldn’t turn down.
What are Burnside Brewery’s plans?
The Laurencekirk firm has partnered with Fordoun-based FJB Scotland to erect a new a new brewery next to an events and wedding venue at Woodburnden Steading.
FJB Scotland was given planning permission for the development in December 2020.
It will host ceremonies and drinks receptions, while a bar and catering will be provided to ensure guests are refreshed during their visit.
Wedding parties will be able to stay overnight in the guest accommodation, while the newlyweds will end their special day by staying in the Honeymoon Suite overlooking the rural area.
And to further enhance their plans, FJB Scotland later joined with Burnside Brewery to add the brewers to the site.
However, they soon found themselves on the rocks as council planners recommended the facility be refused, claiming it didn’t meet its local development plan for the area.
From steading to weddings…
The application recently went before members of the Kincardine and Mearns area committee.
Determined to get the proposal over the line, construction boss Finlay Brock explained how they plans came to be.
He told councillors he bought Woodburnden with his wife in 2019 after a “moment of madness”.
While the steading was initially advertised as a potential five-home development, he believed it should be enjoyed by “everybody, not just a certain few”.
This led to the creation of a “grand plan” to turn it into a wedding venue, with a workshop and office on the side for his construction business.
Plus, more land was available for other businesses to help enhance the site.
The workshop and the office was built in 2020, while works to stabilise the steading were completed too.
How Burnside Brewery tapped in to Laurencekirk site
Two years later, Mr Brock bumped into Steve Lewis of Burnside Brewery and the two discussed their long-term hopes and dreams.
“They were in the position where they had a small microbrewery, basically two garages down in Laurencekirk, and they were looking to expand,” Mr Brock explained.
“They came to us with a proposal to use part of our land as something in the future.”
Eventually, the pair agreed that the brewery would serve the small wedding venue, which would host 40 ceremonies per year – and only at weekends.
Mr Brock explained that the brewery would be “integral” to the wedding venue.
“You can have a wedding but you have a venue where the drink is brewed right next door,” he said.
Mr Brock pleaded: “It’s more important than ever that we get this brewery built to bring life back to the building and the area, bring the community spirit back.
“We’ve had enough turmoil in the last few years, it would be good to bring something back to people.”
‘Iconic’ building to bring jobs and tourism to Mearns
Despite planning officers’ recommendation to scrap the plans, committee members gave the pair their blessing and unanimously granted the application.
Councillor George Carr said the site was “appropriate”, and welcomed the new jobs and potential tourism boost the venue would bring.
“The Burnside Brewery is a successful business in the Mearns and their reputation is on the up,” he added.
“We have quite a number of these destinations that people can come to, whether that’s a farm shop, cafe or whatever.
“They are all places that really are cherished in the Mearns.”
He said that the steading is “iconic”, adding: “It’s not really a building you’d want to turn into a house, it has the potential for something else.”
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