Ullapool toasts multimillion-pound investments as new distillery bid is lodged
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MILLIONS of pounds of investment has been poured into a Ross-shire village through a series of facelift projects which could soon be followed by another trailblazing development.
With one major hotel coming to the end of a major £2m revamp and another set for significant investment after recently changing hands, Ullapool's pulling power on the globally known North Coast 500 route is being significantly bolstered.
On top of that, a £10m boardwalk and seawall project looks set to become a focal point of the village for locals and tourists.
And the bustling coastal village, which also includes a ferry link to Lewis, could soon be toasting another local attraction if new plans are backed.
The proposal lodged by locally based Rhidorroch Distillery is for alterations to a café/bar/residential flat and the replacement of an existing workshop/store with a craft distillery at 6/7Shore Street.
The project would employ five full-time staff in the bar and would, according to a design statement lodged with the plans "result in a building that provides an impressive space and a unique visitor experience for the village".
The existing building and outside beer garden "will be used for the same purpose as it has been used for the last 30-plus years" and will have a bar and small shop.
The statement adds: "The previous use of the main building was café/bar with a residential unit over. These uses will be unchanged as part of this application."
The site is located within the Ullapool Conservation Area and is accessed from Shore Street to the south and Argyle Street to the north.
It's anticipated the distillery building will be used from 6am to 7pm on days when gin distilling is taking place.
The plan is to distill gin and rum.
The bar would be open from 11am to 10pm, later on event nights and weekends during the summer months.
A design statement lodged with Highland Council says: "The proposed works will enhance the site and its setting by allowing a new, modern craft distillery to be formed on the footprint of a poor quality, substandard workshop/shed. The building will be constructed with materials and a design that is of the highest architectural quality and workmanship.
"This will result in a building that provides an impressive space, and a unique visitor experience for the village."
The proposal comes as, in an unrelated development, the 54-bedroom Royal Hotel changes hands with plans for investment as a tourist attraction and after a £2m face-lift of the 80-bedroom Caledonian Hotel.
Hopes are high meanwhile that a £10m, nine-month boardwalk project will now start to pay dividends in the heart of the village.
Harbour master Kevin Peach said: "I'm hoping it will become the focal point of the village for locals and tourists – a safe space, that’s fully accessible, and the businesses will thrive off that. The road was in a catastrophic condition, the local water network was in very, very poor condition. We've renewed all that. I think it will give Ullapool the facelift it needs."
As well as this, the completion of the project will see a 400m extension of the pontoon by the harbour, for yachts, local small boats, marine tourism operators and inshore fishing vessels.
