Witchburn Distillery Seeks Planning Approval, Wolfcraig’s Request Denied

Plans for a third new distillery in Campbeltown, Scotland have been submitted to Argyll & Bute Council for review. The Witchburn Distillery project is led by Adam Hochul and Alexander Springensguth, the entrepreneurs behind the independent bottler Brave New Spirits, and is planned for a site at the former RAF Macrihanish airbase in Campbeltown. 

“They very quickly realized that to establish and grow in the market, they were going to have to build their own distillery,” said Andrew Nairn, who is serving as project manager and will be the distillery manager assuming the project receives planning approval.

There are currently two other Campbeltown distillery projects awaiting planning review from the Council: the Dal Rianta distillery near Campbeltown Loch and the R&B Distillers Macrihanish Distillery near Campbeltown Airport. Nairn believes the Witchburn project will receive approval because it is repurposing an existing industrial-zoned building, which formerly housed the U.S. Navy Seals unit based at RAF Macrihanish before the base closed. 

Meanwhile, the proposed Wolfcraig Distillery project in Stirling is looking for a new home after Stirling Council rejected for a second time plans for the distillery. The Council’s local review body has rejected an appeal by Wolfcraig of the Council’s denial last year on the grounds that the distillery would be too large and hurt the landscape. 

Wolfcraig co-founder Jamie Lunn told reporters he was “extremely disappointed” by the news, and that the distillery’s backers will look for a new site elsewhere in Scotland. 

Published May 29, 2023