Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Whyte & Mackay whisky warehouse in Invergordon could ‘safeguard major employer’, says council

The whisky maturation and storage facility will be built in five phases over the next 50 years.

Whyte & Mackay Invergordon distillery.
Whyte & Mackay wants to expand its operation in Invergordon with a new whisky maturation and storage facility. Image: Supplied

Highland Council has recommended councillors grant planning permission for a whisky maturation and storage facility in Invergordon.

Council planners say the new facility will safeguard Whyte & Mackay as a major local employer and improve a derelict site.

Whyte & Mackay already operates a distillery in Invergordon, and is now seeking permission for a warehouse complex close by.

The distiller wants to build 42 maturation warehouses comprising 121 storage cells, along with a new security gatehouse and office.

Whyte & Mackay bottle against sunset.

The site is a 48-hectare area of farm land next to Cromarty Firth industrial park. The industrial park lies to the east, while the north of the site is bounded by the ‘big ditch’.

If agreed, the whisky warehouses will feature metal wall and roof cladding in grey and green. The complex will be surrounded by security fencing and will also include a firefighting plant and forklift sheds.

According to the planning report, Whyte & Mackay has a “comprehensive” landscaping plan, including woodland, scrub and meadow planting.

Highland Council officers have recommended the application for approval at this week’s north planning applications committee.

Concerns over VOCs

However, it’s not without controversy. There is one objection against developing a greenfield site, and Invergordon community council has raised concern about VOC emissions.

The community council took their concerns to Sepa, but the environment agency has not itself raised any objection.

Highland Council acknowledged the potential environmental impact of the development, but highlighted that environmental health, Sepa and NatureScot are all happy with the application.

The council said landscaping will soften the visual impact of the development, and pointed out that there’s already industrial development in the area.

They expect any extra traffic to mostly come from the existing Whyte & Mackay site on Academy Road, and feel the benefits of the new development outweigh the negatives.

North planning committee will decide whether to grant planning permission at its meeting on 19 April. If it gets the green light, Whyte & Mackay intend to build the Invergordon warehouses in five phases, only completing the whole development in 2077.

Conversation