Council gives its verdict on new eco-friendly gin bar planned for Penwortham

No 1 Fairham Gin, the brainchild of eco-friendly partners Ellis McKeown and Liam Stemson, is set to open in a block of restaurants and bars on Liverpool Road.

The owners launched the gin in 2021 from their home address in Fairham Avenue, Penwortham and have since won a number of major awards. Now they plan to turn a former office unit in the old Booths store into a bar and shop to market their brand.

The project has been approved by South Ribble planning department subject to conditions governing noise, deliveries and the use of an outdoor seating area.

No 1 Fairham Gin will operate from No 14B Liverpool Road, a small unit sandwiched between the restaurant 1260 Craft and Crust and micro-bar GinJarAle. Other neighbours include wine bar No 16 On The Hill and the restaurant Bread and Butter.

"The proposal is for a new high-class drinking establishment to join the already established fashionable bars, restaurants, sophisticated venues and independent shops along Liverpool Road, High Street and the Penwortham District Centre," says a planning statement to the council.

"The proposal will see the former office unit converted into a stylish and up-market bar that will trade under the local and well-established No1 Fairham Gin trademark. The company is a local success story, having been set up by two local residents who have turned their company into a multi-award-winning brand.

"The Penwortham pair began distilling their own Lancashire craft gin after wanting to make their own mark in the industry by creating editions that boast a contemporary take on a traditional dry gin.

"Fairham Gin will follow other recently opened bars and restaurants along Liverpool Road with an outside seating area. The outside area would be subject to restricted hours in line with the other units along that strip."

To do their bit to combat climate change Ellis and Liam have teamed up with the Ribble Rivers Trust in a partnership which will see a tree sapling planted in Lancashire for every 70c bottle of gin sold. They are also looking to recruit staff who live within walking distance of the bar/shop.

"The trees that are planted through this partnership will deliver a wide range of benefits, including creating new woodlands for wildlife and people to enjoy, boosting biodiversity, slowing the flow of water, reducing flood risk and improving water and air quality.

"Perhaps most importantly, these trees will help to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by taking the carbon in as they grow, which will ultimately help to reduce the effects of climate change.

"As No.1 Fairham Gin grows from its infancy, we want to make sure that we are being an eco-friendly business. Being a new brand, we were conscious from day one about our potential negative impact on the environment.

Being a local company we are also very keen for staff to use public transport, cycles and walking as a means of transport.”

No 1 Fairham Gin will have opening hours of 9am-11pm Monday to Friday, 9am-11:59pm Saturday and 10:15am-11pm Sunday. The outside seating area will be open from 10am to 8pm. Internal background music will have a sound limiter set by the council.