A whisky distillery in Northumberland has been given the green light to be built after funds needed for the project were approved.

Work on Ad Gefrin, situated in the north of the county in Wooler, will now get underway as soon as possible after over £4.5 million was given for the scheme – the first venture to be created as part of the Borderlands Programme for Northumberland.

“This is extremely welcome news which will bring more jobs, investment and visitors to this beautiful part of our county,” said Glen Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council.

 “We’ve worked so hard behind the scenes to support this fantastic project and we’re looking forward to seeing construction start imminently and hopefully open for business by the end of next year.”

£3 million of the funding has come via the Boderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, with a further £1 million being given via the North East Rural Growth Network – Strategic Economic Infrastructure Fund (SEIF) and the County Council also giving £600,000 to the building of the distillery.

“We have never doubted that we could fulfil our vision to create a world class visitor destination in this beautiful county,” added Ad Gefrin representative Eileen Ferguson.  

“The people of Glendale haven’t doubted either. Throughout everything we have continued to be overwhelmed by everyone’s good wishes – even when it looked on the surface as if progress was slow to the point of coming to a halt. We can’t thank everyone enough.”

The new visitor experience is expected to open in Autumn next year, with work set to commence on the project over the coming months.