Whitby Gin in £1.5m distillery expansion

Scarborough councillors have approved Whitby Distillery’s £1.5m plans to renovate two derelict barns on Abbey Lands on the south-west corner of the Abbey grounds.

This will see the building of a new eco-build distillery, which would start this autumn and is expected to take six to 12 months to complete.

The building will be supported by renewable energy sources to house a new hand-beaten still. Green roofs will be planted with wild flowers to nurture the natural plants and wildlife.

There are also plans to enable the distillery to offer visitor experiences, providing high-quality leisure and function space for the local community.

Whitby Distillery, maker of Whitby Gin, was founded in 2017 by Jessica Slater and Luke Pentith.

Production​

Pentith said: “Moving our distillery to Abbey Lands Farm is a game-changer for us and will enable us to step up production, give us a tremendous platform for growth and introduce a new industry to Whitby.​

“It is an honour and a privilege to be restoring these derelict buildings on such a world-famous site.​

“For us, this is all about launching an amazing adventure on the atmospheric North Sea coastline, with tremendous knock-on effects for the local economy.”​

Slater added that the company was making “a significant investment" into the local community and the future of the town by supporting 10 jobs during renovation and, in the longer term, providing up to 15 jobs.

“Our plans include a visitor centre, which will showcase our production process and various gins, as well as paying homage to the amazing cultural heritage of Whitby and providing an educational and corporate business space,”​ she said. 

Visitor experience​

“Whitby Distillery aims to offer an educational and enchanting visitor experience which can be accessed all year round, as an out-of-season and wet weather destination. The visitor experience venue and exhibition/hire space build on the strong links Whitby Gin and the distillery has with the adjacent English Heritage attraction.”​

Whitby Gin is crafted using hand foraged botanicals from the Yorkshire coast and moorland and more than 600 bottles of it are sold every week. 

The distillery recently purchased its new still Dora-Grace, which will give it the capability to produce up to 100,000 full size bottles a year.