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Search forBid to open new 'Buckie' winery
Monday, August 18, 2008, 11:06
A planning application has been submitted to Dartmoor National Park who describe it as a major and substantial plan.
The high alcohol content tonic wine, produced by the Benedictine monks using a recipe from France, must continue to be made within the grounds of the abbey to keep its name.
Architects have come up with plans for a green meadow roofed building in a bid to get permission for the new building because it is on land not earmarked for industrial development.
Plans and designs submitted by Exeter-based Penrose Architects show a new winery with steel clad wall panels and a grass roof planted with meadow species, which would 'minimise the visual impact' on the countryside.
Penrose says the current winery, which is situated in a range of stone buildings, has limited space both for storage and deliveries.
The statement explains: "Production is currently limited by the holding capacity of storage vats and warehouse areas and thereby dependent on receiving uninterrupted deliveries."
It also says the expansion will 'serve anticipated demand and foreseeable growth of the business'.
The building would remain as one storey but would accommodate larger vats and use mezzanine floors where appropriate.
New office space would also be created and improvements carried out to the existing track leading from the old A38.
Chris Hart, from the planning section at Dartmoor National Park, said: "It's a major application and we are consulting with the relevant parties on it at the moment. It's a significant proposal and if approved it would be a departure from the newly-adopted core strategy.
"It's on land which is not allocated for industrial development. It's on semi wetland sited on the east side of the River Dart. It will be put before members in September."
The tonic wine, known as 'Buckie' has an alcohol content of 15 per cent and costs £5 for a 750ml bottle.
More than 10 per cent of all sales of the tonic wine are in Lanarkshire in Scotland.
Buckfast Abbey is a major employer in Buckfastleigh partly because of the manufacture of the wine.
Jonathan Deacon, finance director at the abbey, said: "In response to constraints of the site the architects have cut the building into the side of an existing large mound and then covered the whole building with a green living roof of more than 7,000 sq ft.
"The environmental aspect of the proposal has been further enhanced by the use of geothermal energy for space heating, natural ventilation and the harvesting of rainwater.
"It is also hoped to incorporate seed from the protected Deptford Pink wildflower, which grows on the abbey's land, into the new green roof, if Natural England grant a licence for its collection.
"The design approach taken ensures the proposal is only visible from a neighbouring industrial complex."
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