A DISTILLERY on Avonside, Melksham, is looking to become a hub, attracting visitors to the town, providing tours, gin schools, tastings and small events.
Andrew Wilson of Ten Hides Distillery spoke about the business to town councillors as they considered his licensing application at the meeting of the town council’s economic, development and planning committee, held last week.
He explained that they are a small company, based in Wiltshire, which has been trading for just over a year, distilling gin and now also rum. He said that the company’s long-term aim is to also make whisky. “The unit at Avonside will be our primary production facility,” he explained, “and we also want to make it a visitor destination.” He said they would provide a shop and although the site is quite small, they have an open space by the river where they could put on small local ticketed events. “We want to make it a hub of the community on Avonside,” he explained. “Being a quality producer of spirits is what we want to be known for.”
Andrew Wilson said that the opening hours on their licence application sounded long, but that was not intended for the business to be open and selling alcohol, but rather to enable staff to fulfill their internet sales.
Town councillors welcomed the initiative and said it was good to see new businesses coming to Avonside. They agreed it was “Exciting to have something like this in the town,” and unanimously proposed supporting the application.
