Diageo gifts former Kilmarnock bottling plant site for regeneration

Diageo's former Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock is to be gifted to a regeneration project which aims to redevelop the town centre.

The plant was closed five years ago with the loss of 700 jobs, despite a national campaign to keep it open.

Diageo said it would gift the site to the HALO urban park project, along with a £2m grant if East Ayrshire Council matching the amount - which it now has.

The council will now seek an extra £10m from the Scottish and UK governments.

Diageo's president of global supply, David Cutter, said the drinks giant was "delighted to partner with East Ayrshire Council to support this regeneration proposal".

"Our ambition has always been to see this site redeveloped to the benefit of the local economy and community," he said.

"We believe this regeneration plan will create a positive legacy for Kilmarnock and we hope it will gain the necessary support...to make it a reality."

The £10m being sought from the Scottish and UK government's would be delivered through an Ayrshire-wide Growth Plan which was drawn up by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and North Ayrshire councils.

It is similar to the City Deals struck for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

The total value of projects included in the current plan is £359m.

Among them is support to the aerospace sector at Prestwick Airport and improvements to Ardrossan and Irvine harbours, plus a marine tourism strategy.

The cash bid also support Scotland's first bio-refinery development, and a medicines manufacturing innovation centre, as well as a manufacturing corridor being developed near Kilmarnock.

The HALO urban park project, which is part of the Growth Plan, is a largely private-sector funded initiative to redevelop the former Johnnie Walker site in Kilmarnock.

It is being led by Kilmarnock-based developers Klin Group and proposes to create a "commercial, cultural, leisure and lifestyle quarter" for the town.

Marie Macklin, chair of Klin Group, said: "Kilmarnock deserves the very best for this iconic site and that is what we are setting out to deliver.

"We listened carefully to what the people of the town had to say and the HALO Project will provide a fitting and sustainable legacy for the Hill Street site that will last for generations of Kilmarnock residents to come."

Diageo's decision to move production from the Kilmarnock site to more modern bottling lines at plants at Shieldhall, Glasgow, and Leven in Fife, was widely opposed by trade unions and the Scottish government.

Since the closure, 10 acres of the Kilmarnock site have already been developed for Ayrshire College, which is due to open a new building in the next few weeks.