Planning battle looms over West Cork whiskey warehouses

Eight hundred people sign online petition against major development near Rosscarbery

John O'Connell, director, West Cork Distillery and Deirdre Bohan, master distiller. O'Connell says he respects people’s right to object to the company's new development if they want to but says there is  "no need for mud-slinging from anybody.” 

More than 800 people have signed an online petition opposing the construction of a major whiskey warehousing development in a rural area of West Cork. 

The proposed development from Skibbereen-based West Cork Distillers would see a €16 million whiskey maturation complex, consisting of eight double warehouses extending to more than 24,000 sq m in floor space, built in the rural townland of Tullig near Rosscarbery.

Despite assurances from the company that the development would be unobtrusive and shielded by a four-metre-high planted berm, locals say that the proposal is unsuitable for such a rural location which they say has insufficient infrastructure to cope with a development of the scale proposed.

“Initially, I don’t think most people in the community believed it was possible for them to build something like this here,” says local resident, naturalist and wildlife guide Calvin Jones. “It was a case of ‘they’ll never get planning for that.’” 

No firm guidelines

“We started looking into it, and we are not the first rural community to face this. There have been several applications around the country for these types of warehouses, some have not been successful but others have. There don’t seem to be any firm guidelines and with the huge growth in the industry there will be a lot more of these projects. 

It needs to be clear that they can’t just throw up industrial developments like this anywhere they like.

John O’Connell, director of West Cork Distillers said: “We respect people’s right to object if they want to. I’ve talked to everyone in the area and I know them almost better than where I live at this stage. There’s no need for mud-slinging from anybody.” 

Set up in 2003, West Cork Distillers now employs 120 people and boasts revenues of more than €26 million a year. With Ireland’s whiskey business booming there are likely to be more and more applications of this sort around the country as distillers look for more space to store their product which must be kept in barrels for a minimum of three years before it can be called whiskey.

Another local resident in Tullig, retired school principal Jean Dignan, said: “We are not against West Cork Distillers we just want them to reconsider where they are proposing to build these warehouses. This is a community, it’s just not appropriate here.

These should be in an industrial area, not in the middle of unspoiled countryside. The road where they want to build it is barely wide enough for a tractor. They are talking about HGVs coming down here, it’s crazy.

Cork County Council received 38 submissions relating to the planning application including a joint submission signed by 121 local residents.