Fire Safety Concerns Torpedo West Cork Distillers' Expansion Plans

West Cork Distillers in Ireland has been looking to expand for some time and submitted extensive plans for new warehouses to County Cork. Those plans have now been scrapped for a striking reason.

Ireland’s national planning and environmental authority, An Coimisiún Pleanála, has decided not to grant permission for the construction of West Cork Distillers’ four bonded warehouses.

The warehouses for West Cork Distillers were slated for Ballinreenlanig, a rural location in County Cork, but that is now off the table. The reason for the rejection is uncertainty around fire safety.

Mary Rose McGovern, a planning commissioner in Cork, believes West Cork Distillers failed to clearly demonstrate how safety would be managed. For example, it’s unclear how firefighting water and rainwater on the site would be safely contained and discharged in the event of a fire.

Because clear, comprehensive information is lacking, there’s no guarantee that storing large volumes of alcohol would not pose a risk to public safety.

Whiskey storage carries specific risks due to alcohol’s high flammability. The commission therefore deems it essential that all safety measures are worked out in detail before a building permit can be granted.

Beyond fire safety, environmental protection was also central to the decision. According to the commission, the proposed facilities would not adequately prevent liquids from leaking into nearby waterways.

Since these risks were not convincingly addressed, the commission ruled that harmful environmental effects cannot be ruled out. For that reason, the permit has been refused.

Another concern is the location of the planned site. The commission says there’s a risk that emergency services would arrive too late in the event of a fire or alcohol leak. Response times for the fire brigade and other emergency services are considered too long, which could have serious consequences in an emergency.

West Cork Distillers has stated it disagrees with the commission’s decision. County Cork had already granted approval after reviewing roughly the same issues.

They also argue that an environmental impact assessment is not necessary and that the warehouse design complies with all regulations. The company likewise rejects the criticism that the project would detract from the area’s rural character.

For now, the ruling means construction of the whiskey warehouses cannot proceed. It has not been disclosed whether West Cork Distillers will revise the plans.