Beam Suntory Was Just Approved For a $189M Facility in The Scottish Lowlands — But Locals Are Worried

Beam Suntory was granted permission to build a £150 million facility in the local community of Ayrshire, yet residents aren’t happy about it. (Photo: David Cheskin/PA via AP)

The Daily Record reported on Monday that Beam Suntory was granted permission to build a £150 million ($189.6 million) facility dedicated to whisky maturation within the Scottish lowlands of Ayrshire. Yet, locals in the area have expressed vehement opposition to the project due to concerns of potential health and environmental risks.

Residents cited concerns about the facility harming protected peatlands within the surrounding area, noise levels and the baudoinia compniacensis, more commonly known as whisky fungus.

An individual named Elliot Davis, who runs a cable company that evaluates the audio quality of cables, was concerned about noise levels from the whisky maturation site. He expressed fears that the project could potentially pose a drastic hit to his business, according to the Daily Record.

He alleged that he reached out to East Ayrshire Council’s Environmental Health Service, and the organization assured him a survey would be done at his property to monitor potential impacts of noise levels upon completion of Beam Suntory’s new facilities.

Davis claims the survey was never carried out.

The organization claimed it was not able to access the area, but it performed a survey in “proxy locations” and claimed there would be no issue with Beam Suntory moving forward with the project.

Another resident was concerned that the facility might impact the borehole that supplied water to his home and wanted assurance that if the new whisky maturation facility impacted it negatively in any way, his losses would be looked after by the company.

The council cited economic benefits to the project moving forward, and Craig Martin, Beam Suntory’s general manager of manufacturing operations in the U.K. and Ireland expressed that the project was a “significant milestone” in investing in the local communities of Scotland.

As the whisky boom continues around the globe, more facilities continue to be built to meet supply. Yet, sometimes the relationship between residents and neighboring distilleries can be fraught.

In the U.S. earlier in March, MGP filed a lawsuit against bordering Kentucky communities that were denying the whiskey giant’s expansion plans. The communities of Williamstown and Nelson County were allegedly blocking construction projects for a total of 11 warehouses.

The concerns were similar to the cases against Beam Suntory. Residents were leery of whiskey fungus and its impact on the local area.

Individuals cited wear and tear on the road and flammable alcohol in storage as additional concerns. Previously, there was a bit more of an incentive when distilleries were taxed to provide for local infrastructure, but with recent cuts, some residents claim there is little benefit to living near a distillery.

On Monday, an outbreak of whiskey fungus in a small New York hamlet near the WhistlePig whiskey brand’s facilities led to the local community involving the Environmental Protection Agency.

Although WhistlePig has offered to assist with cleaning residents’ homes on a “case-by-case basis,” it appears the scope of the outbreak was significantly larger than anticipated.

American Distilled Spirits Alliance CEO and President Matthew Dogali voiced his support of the distilleries, however, claiming there were economic benefits provided to local communities people seem to forget about.

In reference to concerns over whiskey fungus, he made the following statement to the Adirondack Explorer:

“It’s an issue that papers are willing to run a story on because it seems spooky and mysterious, even though it’s been around for hundreds of years. The same papers won’t run a story on the jobs we add or the taxes we pay or the people that are happy we build businesses in rural America.”

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