Spean Bridge brewery plan

AN APPLICATION has been submitted to the Highland Council to turn a Spean Bridge steading into a brewery.

West Highland Brewery (WHB) has applied to turn Tirindish Steading, Spean Bridge, into a brewery capable of producing 3,000 litres of beer and ale a week.

In a supporting statement to the council, WHB said it intends is to build a ‘thriving craft ale enterprise’, distinct to Lochaber which uses local expertise and resources.

WHB will sell through local off-sales and from a small retail outlet on the proposed brewery site.

The project is the brainchild of director James Leggett, his partner Lucy Hicks and neighbour Ian Peter MacDonald.

James and Lucy own Tirindish House bed and breakfast, while Ian owns the steading and a holiday cottage behind it.

Ian bought the equipment from a brewery in Glenfinnan and invited James and Lucy to join him on the enterprise. Speaking to the Lochaber

Times, WHB director James said: ‘ Ian invited us to join him with the brewery and it sounded like an exciting project. We will be using Ian’s cow sheds, which have been disused for decades, and, hopefully with planning permission, we will start producing later this year. We hope to employ local people and open a farm shop in the future which will attract tourists. It’s going to be fairly small-scale to begin with. It’s not going to visually impact the local environment.’