GlenWyvis distillery founder John Mckenzie, the Flying Farmer, ordered by Inverness Sheriff to cease being “the nightmare neighbour next door” after campaign of “harassment”
A landowner at war with the Dingwall distillery he originally founded has been ordered by a court to stop harassing staff and interfering in its operations.
Helicopter pilot John Mckenzie, known as the ‘flying farmer’, bought Scroggie Farm on hills above the Ross-shire town in 2007 and gained permission to build an innovative micro-whisky distillery there in 2014.
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The unique GlenWyvis Distillery was said to be the world’s first 100 per cent community-owned venture of its kind, with ambitions to boost the local community and economy.
His dream came to fruition in 2016 with the creation of a Community Benefit Society (CBS) headed by Mr Mckenzie, but by February 2019 boardroom relations had deteriorated.
Mr Mckenzie quit as managing director of the business, which he felt was losing sight of its local vision and identity.
The former Army Air Corps and Canadian Air Force helicopter pilot, who chauffeured First Minister Nicola Sturgeon across Scotland during the 2017 election, remained the distillery’s landlord, living in a neighbouring farmhouse he built.
A lease, pre-dating his resignation, had granted GlenWyvis tenancy at Scroggie Farm at £1 a year for 175 years.
But, as Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald heard in a case pursued by distillery management at the civil court in Inverness, neighbourly relations soon soured.
The case brought against Mr Mckenzie by the distillery was successful and an appeal against the ruling was rejected last month.
The court heard Mr Mckenzie repeatedly made complaints about a host of issues relating to the distillery’s running, including movements of traffic to and from the premises.
He claimed the distillery was bigger than planning consent had allowed, was too close to his home with noise disrupting family life, intrusively used security cameras, and had visitors illicitly accessing the site.
Access issues with several flashpoints recounted over Mr Mckenzie’s locking gates on the single track road leading to the distillery.
The court heard how “threats”, “ranting” and “rude, aggressive and belligerent” behaviour were common and took a huge toll on staff morale, as well as sapping time, money and resources from the distillery’s work.
The disruptive behaviour, including repeatedly entering the distillery land and offices without permission, became so prevalent that some distillery staff quit their jobs and one took five months’ sick leave for mental health reasons.
On one occasion, he threatened then-distillery manager Duncan Tait by saying that if he didn’t reduce distillery working hours he would become “the nightmare neighbour next door.”
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The court heard that some staff stopped venturing out of the premises during their lunch hour through fear of encountering Mr Mckenzie and experiencing intimidation.
On one occasion, in September 2020, the landlord closed and locked access gates to the distillery, risking £16,000 in a day’s worth of lost production. On another occasion, he prevented a staff member from leaving the premises.
The court also heard how he would confront outside contractors attempting to deliver to the distillery, challenging them on their reason for being there.
There were repeated instances of Mr Mckenzie entering the distillery “without legitimate purpose” and acting “in a manner which harassed or caused alarm or distress” to staff.
On one occasion, he interrupted the unloading of glass and embarked on a 30-minute confrontation with the distillery manager.
On another, he entered the building and interrupted a business meeting with French cask suppliers.
Mr Mckenzie also made complaints to police, Highland Council and environmental health officers.
Sheriff MacDonald found in favour of the distillery and found in law that Mr Mckenzie had repeatedly breached an agreement to give 10 days’ notice before entering the premises.
She granted an interdict against him repeating those visits and against him repeatedly interfering in the distillery’s rights to access.
The landlord’s counter-claims were all repelled, and he was found liable for all expenses in the legal case.
In her ruling, Sheriff Macdonald said Mr Mckenzie “either did not understand, or did not want to understand” that the land he leased was “no longer his to do as he pleases with”.
She found his behaviour to be “erratic” and his testimony “bizarre”, and said he had been “abusive and threatening to staff, for no good reason.”
A statement on behalf of the distillery and its chairman David McIntyre, welcomed the Sheriff’s conclusions.
It said the distillery had “been recognised for our community engagement” and distributed more than £30k in grants to organisations in Dingwall, Strathpeffer and Culbokie.
It said: “It is time everyone understood the facts. In our opinion, when he is under scrutiny, our landlord’s construction of reality often crumbles.
“As the court heard, after establishing GlenWyvis, the distillery ran into financial trouble under Mr Mckenzie’s management. He resigned and a rescue plan was put into place. Although this offered Mr Mckenzie a dignified exit … he began a campaign of complaints.
“Mr Mckenzie intimidated and harassed staff. He shouted and behaved aggressively towards them, monitored their movements, stopped them as they went about their business and prevented them from leaving work.
“This was extremely distressing and led to staff and volunteers leaving GlenWyvis.
“Mr Mckenzie’s behaviour and public allegations have been hugely disruptive because they consumed scarce distillery resources and time to prove them unfounded.
“This has been a painful period in the distillery’s history and completely avoidable. This legal action cost tens of thousands of pounds, all of which would otherwise have gone towards making profits to pay interest to our members, to invest in the distillery, in Dingwall and our wider community.”
Mr Mckenzie has told the Ross-shire there are other investigations ongoing relating to the distillery’s operations.
He called the Sheriff Court judgement “just one tiny, unpleasant part” of the story, adding: “We continue to try to expose the truth around GlenWyvis Distillery.”
“I see it as my job as the founder to stand up to what we created, an environmentally-sound distillery, community-owned and community-run by Dingwall.”
