A distillery has formally submitted plans to make its return to the city.

Piston Gin, which was based at the Royal Porcelain Works in Worcester before relocating to Cheltenham, has put forward a planning application to move to Diglis and open a flagship store.

The plans include opening a small-batch gin distillery, gin school and shop at the ‘Danks 2’ former boathouse at Diglis Basin off Diglis Road.

The distillery opened at the Royal Porcelain Works in 2018 before reopening at a unit in Staverton near Cheltenham last September after a move to Worcester’s Cathedral Square fell through – scuppering the chance to remain in the city, at least for the moment.

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The company said it had no intention of leaving Worcester permanently and had continued to search for a suitable base in the city for its flagship store.

Piston Gin now has the means to produce more than 3,500 bottles a week at its Cheltenham premises following a recent rollout across Canada and the US.

The new base in Diglis will allow Piston to continue to host its popular, albeit bigger, gin classes, which include cocktail masterclasses and distilling sessions, as well as produce small batches of gins.

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The planned move has now been made formal by the submission of a planning application to Worcester City Council.

A statement included with the application said: “The business has grown due to the popularity of the brand and its product.

“As such, large-scale production is now carried out off-site in an out-of-town commercial unit but there remains a desire to retain the gin classes and small-batch production within the company’s home city.

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“The proposal would support the expansion of a local business by providing new premises from which to operate supporting seven full-time employees.”

A plan to open a taproom at the former Diglis boathouse, which had been empty for a number of years, was approved by council planners at the end of 2019 but never came to fruition.

The empty boathouse was intended as a restaurant as part of the regeneration of Diglis Marina approved by the council in 2004 but remained empty.

You can have your say on the plan by visiting Worcester City Council’s website.

The application number is 23/00149/FUL and consultation ends on March 15.