It's a sign of the times for Hawick distillery

The signs are that good progress is being made on creating the first whisky distillery in the Borders for almost 200 years.
The Borders Distillery site in Commercial Road, Hawick.The Borders Distillery site in Commercial Road, Hawick.
The Borders Distillery site in Commercial Road, Hawick.

Work to clear and prepare the site at the former Turnbull and Scott factory in Hawick’s Commercial Road is well under way.

The Three Stills Company, the driving force behind the £10m project, has erected signs on site displaying the name of the new development, the Borders Distillery.

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Existing buildings, some dating back to the early part of the last century, are being converted and a visitor centre created.

The distillery equipment will be located in two large industrial sheds, with mash tun and fermenters in one and wash and spirit stills in another next to the courtyard.

Three Stills announced last year that it had secured the funding to develop the distillery, the first in the region since 1837, and formal planning approval was granted by Scottish Borders Council in July of this year.

No one from the company was available for comment but Hawick and Denholm councillor Watson McAteer spoke to Three Stills chief executive John Fordyce recently about the development, expected to create 20 much-needed jobs in the town, and was assured that work is going according to plan.

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He said: “I spoke last week to John Fordyce, and he was content that steady progress was being made.

“Any conditions being required by the council are being addressed, and he appears happy enough.

“The Borders Distillery signs are now in place, and this is a very welcome development.”

“It helps visitors and local people visually identify the area where the distillery complex will be located and is a simple but effective indicator that positive progress continues to be made.”