One of Wales’s finest historic venues, the Grade I listed Hensol Castle is home to the area’s first full-scale gin distillery, complete with visitor experience, gin school and a contract bottling plant.
Already playing host to weddings, corporate events, tasting tours and gin enthusiasts, the distillery wanted to expand its hospitality facilities with a new and beautifully-designed space for food and drink.
GJP worked closely with the client to plan & secure permission for multiple elements.
The first resulted in adding a restaurant, bar and servicing facilities within the outer courtyard of the Grade I listed Castle itself, meaning the venue could attract new guests with its revamped offering.
The second secured permission for development to facilitate the restoration of Hensol Castle. This included the erection of 10 mews dwellings, as well as an outline application for the erection of 6 detached dwellings, at two different sites within the Castle park and the wider historic park and garden.
For both plans, the council recognised the high quality of the designs proposed, and that they were appropriate and sensitive to the historic importance of the castle and its setting within the historic park and garden.
The additional revenue secured as a result of the developments would be legally tied to the restoration works of the castle – a fantastic result for our client and for the preservation of the historic asset.
We can’t speak highly enough of Geraint & the team at GJP. The commercial reality of restoring Hensol Castle to the first class hospitality venue and craft distillery we knew it could be was that we had to work with the stakeholders including the Council and CADW to construct a case for a commercial enabling development that could overcome the financial deficit resulting from the conservation works required to protect the Castle building itself. This required all parties to adopt a pragmatic approach and the GJP team have been instrumental in navigating the complex objectives of the stakeholders involved throughout the process and delivering something everyone involved can be proud of.
Chris Leeke, Hensol Castle Distillery