Work is scheduled to begin on a new single malt whisky distillery and visitor centre in Fife, according to the BBC.

Kingsbarns Company of Distillers Ltd said it had gained final planning permission to renovate and convert an existing farm steading near Kingsbarns for the facility.

Last year, the firm secured £670k in public funds towards the cost of the project which include a new mash turnkey malt distillation system. It came from the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation Scheme.

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The work is expected to take about a year to complete, with the hopes of being able to welcome visitors to the site by summer 2014. It is thought the building work will begin with the preservation of the historic Dutch pan tile roof and 18th century stonework. This would then be followed by initial land preparation.

The business is run by the Wemyss family, who already own Wemyss Malts.

Speaking on behalf of the family, William Wemyess is quoted as saying: "It's been a busy few months working with Historic Scotland, Fife Council planners and a team of architects, designers and engineers to get to this point where we can start to turn the plans into reality.

"Building a distillery is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and we're looking forward to playing our part in the reinvigoration of the Fife distilling tradition."

(JP)