North British Muirhall warehouses
Blyth & Blyth assisted the North British Distillery Company Ltd with the expansion of their existing warehousing and disgorging complex at Muirhall, West Lothian, between 2003 and 2013.
Location: Muirhall, West Lothian
Client: The North British Distillery Company
Cost: £12m
Completion: 2013
The project was carried out in three phases and comprised the construction of four new triple-cell bonded warehouses, providing approximately 13,000m2 of new palletised and racked whisky storage. The project included new access roads, hard standings, services, spill containment, welfare facilities and forklift charging and storage sheds.
Blyth & Blyth were the sole consultant for the expansion from feasibility and budget costing through to final handover. The services we provided included site master planning, preparation and submission of Planning and Building Warrant Applications, design of all civil and structural works and buildings services, competitive tendering, contract and project management, CDM Coordination and site supervision.
The Client benefited from a single point of responsibility, lower professional fees, and from extensive in-house expertise gained from the design and management of dozens of bonded whisky warehouses over the last 20 years, which allowed storage space to be maximised under current Regulations whilst simultaneously minimising capital cost
All Phases of the project were completed within strict deadlines and within budget. The latter Phases were undertaken within an operational site where safety and security were of fundamental importance to the Client
Key challenges
The ground conditions at the site were poor and excavation and civils works required to be carefully managed during wet weather. Several minor watercourses traversed the site and SEPA approval was required during modification and culverting operations.
Results
The warehouses have required little maintenance during their working lives, and have operated effectively and economically as a result of the attention paid to the design of the internal floor space and layout to suit the stored pallet sizes and rack configurations.