Work resumes at Rosebank Distillery as owners reassure Falkirk whisky fans over collapsed wall

Work resumed on the site at the end of last week after months of inactivity, caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a collapsed wall.

Management say anyone passing by the iconic facility will be in “no doubt” the revival project is back on track.

To begin with, much of the work will be hidden behind a two-metre hoarding displaying images of a Rosebank rose and pencil illustration of the new distillery.

However, in a couple of months the steel skeleton of the building will slowly come into view.

Leonard Russell, managing director of Ian Macleod Distillers, sympathises with anyone who feared the worst as they looked on at the old premises lying empty.

He said: “I’m not surprised if passers-by have thought, ‘What’s going on?’ It looks like it’s completely stopped.”

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The stoppage was only ever a matter of time, according to bosses.

Mr Russell continued: “We never had cold feet about the project.

“What happened was that when digging a pit to deal with drainage on-site, a wall fell down. We got further surveys done and concluded that we had the opportunity to revisit the design.

“With builders not allowed on-site, it gave us the breathing space to reapply for planning permission and create something even better.

“Our objective is still to make Rosebank as fabulous as it can possibly be.”

Benjamin Mawby, ISG contracts manager, said: “From a builder’s point of view it’s a fantastic outcome.

“And from an architectural point of view, I think it’s going to be stunning. You will still have the history there with the malt building, the chimney and what we know as the original warehouse.”

Detailing the upcoming work, Mr Mawby said: “You’re going to see some excavators arrive and some large eight-wheel lorries removing material and bringing in aggregate, concrete and reinforcement steel.

“We’re going to dig down to what we call the formation level to start laying the foundations to support the distillery building. At peak there’ll probably be ten to 15 people working on the ground.”

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