Following the Planning Committee’s decision yesterday to grant the application, work on the new, state-of-the-art bottling plant will begin immediately.

Chivas Brothers also has plans to build office accommodation at Kilmalid, which will eventually see a total of 460 new jobs created in Dumbarton.

Leader of West Dunbartonshire Council, Jonathan McColl, said: “Chivas Brothers‘ decision to invest £40m in Dumbarton shows that West Dunbartonshire, while being attractive for small and medium enterprises, is also a place where large businesses can be confident locating their operations.

“We are well positioned close to vital links to major road, air, rail and sea transport networks and we are very much open for businesses. I’m delighted that the future of the Chivas site is secured with hundreds of jobs coming to the area as a result.”

Chivas announced in November last year that it planned to close its operations in Paisley and spend £40m on a new state-of-the-art facility in Dumbarton.

It said all permanent employees based in Paisley would transfer to the new site within three years.

Chief executive Laurent Lacassagne said: “With an 80-year history in Dumbarton, we’re proud to be investing and expanding in this community and look forward to progressing the project to the next stage.”

When it made the announcement last year, Chivas Brothers had 460 full-time employees at Paisley and 600 at Kilmalid.

The new facility was scheduled for completion by the end of 2019.

Chivas Brothers is part of drinks giant Pernod Ricard.

The company’s portfolio includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin and The Glenlivet.