As the first whisky distillery in the Borders since 1837 nears completion, local politicians are calling for the industry to be given a boost by a freeze in spirit duty.
John Lamont MP and Rachael Hamilton MSP were given a tour of the site of the Borders Distillery in Hawick by John Fordyce, Co-Founder and Director of the Three Stills Company.
The Three Stills Company was given planning permission in July last year to convert the former Hawick Urban Electric Company building into a distillery. The distillery will create an estimated 20 jobs with processing due to begin at the end of November. Once the Visitor’ Centre is completed in 2018, visitors will be able to have a guided tour of the distillery and in due course by the first products made there.
Both John and Rachael were given a tour of the site, which included the newly installed hand-made copper stills. They also discussed the project to convert distillery co-products into biogas as part of the Scotch Whisky industry’s commitment to renewable energy.
On the back of the visit, John Lamont MP repeated his call for the Chancellor to freeze whisky duty in the upcoming budget on 22nd November. Prior to the visit, John met with Philip Hammond MP to discuss Scottish priorities for the upcoming budget and raised this issue with him.
The Scotch Whisky Association has said that the freeze in spirit duty in 2016 led to an increase in revenue of more than 7%, pouring an additional £231m into the Chancellor’s coffers.
Speaking afterwards, Rachael Hamilton MSP said: “It was great to see the Borders Distillery taking shape, it is really going to be a very impressive facility. John and his team have thought a lot about how to create a visitor experience and how the town can capitalise on their investment.
“Of course, having our own distillery also puts Hawick on the map worldwide, which is great for the town’s reputation. Collectively, distilleries rank among some of the most popular Scottish and UK attractions, with a similar number of visits annually to the likes of St Paul's Cathedral, the Royal Albert Hall and the Scottish National Gallery.”
John Lamont MP said: “Now we have a scotch whisky distillery in the Borders, with more on their way, I want to see better support for the industry.
“Spirit duty is a significant factor for emerging distilleries and a freeze would help new distilleries in the Borders get up and running. Past experience has shown that a freeze actually increases revenues for the very fact that it boosts growth in the industry.
“I have spoken to the Chancellor directly about this and would urge him to raise the spirits of Borders Distillery and others by freezing spirit duty in his budget this month.”
Beatrice Morrice, Head of Public Affairs with the Scotch Whisky Association explained: “The second budget of 2017 is a second chance for the Chancellor to introduce greater tax fairness for the Scotch Whisky industry.
“The tax burden on the average priced bottle of Scotch Whisky stands at 80%. The high level of duty is especially punitive for new entrants to the industry, like the Borders Distillery, that look to build a strong base in the UK market, which is the 4th largest market for Scotch Whisky in the world.
“By backing the industry in the Budget, the UK government boosts Scotch Whisky producers in the Borders and right across Scotland.”
Following the visit, Company Director, John Fordyce said: “We are really pleased to have the end of the construction phase in our sights and are very much looking forward to manufacturing and opening our doors to visitors.”