Kieran Foley

Planning permission has been granted for a major whiskey maturation facility in Waterford, which will have a value of €57m when built.

Stafford Bonded, a Wexford family business involved in the bond storage of alcohol, last week received 10-year planning permission from Waterford City & County Council to develop the facility at the Waterford Airport Business Park. The planning permission is subject to 12 conditions.

The site will include 38 whiskey maturation warehouses and the company will also develop offices including conference rooms. Currently, there are 15 staff members on site but this is expected to grow to 70 within five years.

Welcoming the council’s decision, Michael Stafford Jnr. (Managing Director of Stafford Bonded) said the team look forward to commencing the first phase of the development which will include eight warehouses.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Mr. Stafford said: “As a family business, we take pride in building long-term sustainable relationships with our valued clients. Our aim is to add value to the clients we service by providing cost-effective, quality solutions.”

The company also has a site in Wexford which specialises in bonded storage and logistics of cased alcohol products. The Waterford development will include bulk whiskey intake, disgorging and blending facilities and racked warehouses for private client cask storage.

Clients of Stafford Bonded include several well-known whiskey brands. The company has built and filled six whiskey warehouse units to service Waterford Distillery. A further four whiskey warehouses service its other clients.

The first phase of the new Waterford development is expected to start immediately.