The Shetland Distillery plans to establish a new boutique single malt whiskey distillery in the former Royal Air Force (RAF) site at Saxa Vord on the island of Unst, one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Stuart Nickerson, a former William Grant & Sons distilling director, lodged a planning application with Shetland Islands Council to develop the distillery.
This move comes six years after Blackwood Distillers canceled plans for a distillery as the company failed to attract the necessary funding.
Following the Shetland Islands Council's approval, the proposed whiskey distillery is anticipated to be the UK's most northerly distillery.
Shetland Distillery is currently in discussions with Highlands and Islands Enterprise for potential grant funding.
Commenting on the development plan, Nickerson said that is certainly a major factor.
"There are quite a number of disadvantages, being the transport, the fact you do not get many tourists up there and the extra cost for everything," he added.
"However the big USP without a doubt [is] being the most northerly distillery and, in fact, on Unst, the most northerly inhabited isle in the UK."
Stuart Nickerson, a former William Grant & Sons distilling director, lodged a planning application with Shetland Islands Council to develop the distillery.
This move comes six years after Blackwood Distillers canceled plans for a distillery as the company failed to attract the necessary funding.
Following the Shetland Islands Council's approval, the proposed whiskey distillery is anticipated to be the UK's most northerly distillery.
Shetland Distillery is currently in discussions with Highlands and Islands Enterprise for potential grant funding.
Commenting on the development plan, Nickerson said that is certainly a major factor.
"There are quite a number of disadvantages, being the transport, the fact you do not get many tourists up there and the extra cost for everything," he added.
"However the big USP without a doubt [is] being the most northerly distillery and, in fact, on Unst, the most northerly inhabited isle in the UK."
