Aberdeenshire Council gives BrewDog expansion plans green light

Legal contracts have now been completed which will see the Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) at the Balmacassie Industial Estate in Ellon relocate, allowing BrewDog to acquire the site.

The craft beer company has also been given an option to acquire an adjacent council ‘waste bulking facility’ in order to further increase its operation.

The council facilities will move to a nearby location, described as being within walking distance, and planning and building warrant approvals for the replacement HWRC have already been secured with work due to get underway this month.

The authority’s HWRC at Balmacassie Industrial Estate was built in 2011 to meet the needs of the expanding town. BrewDog’s new brewing and bottling facility was built next to it soon afterwards, providing local employment opportunities and making an excellent contribution to the area’s economy.

The success of the business has seen a number of phased extensions to the original brewery in recent years in order to increase capacity and the latest site acquisitions will enable BrewDog to consolidate further expansion on a single site.

Chair of the policy and resources committee, Councillor Richard Thomson, said: “It is very encouraging to watch as the BrewDog success story continues to unfold across the globe from its base here in Aberdeenshire. I am pleased that councillors have today been able to support the company’s ambitions to further expand the scope of their operations at Balmacassie, while at the same time ensuring that people in the Ellon area will retain access to high quality recycling facilities within the town.

“This represents a good deal for BrewDog, for Ellon, for the council and for Aberdeenshire as a whole. We wish the company every success for the future in what we hope will be a long and productive association with Ellon.”

Construction of the new HWRC is scheduled to take around eight months.