Member Article

New life proposed for Liverpool’s Cains brewery

Liverpool’s Cains Brewery could be transformed into a development space of more than one million square feet dedicated to tourism, leisure and retail.

The developers say that the project would protect the future of both the beer brand and the grade II listed brewery building itself.

Brewery Village Ltd wants to develop the site and restore the brewery into a national and international visitor destination and increase the amount of Cains beers brewed at the site.

The group says that the scheme, also called Brewery Village, would secure and create in the region of 528 full-time jobs plus 48 construction jobs during the build stage; while an additional net £25m of GVA economic benefit would be delivered to the city per year.

As well as the restoration of the building, the scheme would house a new brewery and visitor centre featuring a ‘Sky Bar’ in the roof offering views over the city and the River Mersey.

The building would also house a 94 room boutique hotel, courtyard bistro bar and restaurants, with a large open plan retail hall for artisan food producers to make and sell their produce. On top of that, there would be a designer retail market for independent fashion businesses and function rooms.

The existing historic Brewery Tap pub would be restored and retained.

Plans also include proposals for a four-screen independent art-house cinema, separate food store, health, beauty and fitness centre, 725 high quality homes and car parking provision for over 500 vehicles.

Public consultation has revealed strong support for the proposals from local residents and businesses, with 94% in favour.

If consent is granted, a bespoke craft brewery for Cains would be installed next year, enabling the business to produce a full range of beers for both the UK market and export.

Sudarghara Dusanj, managing director of Cains, said: “We want to create a major new tourism and leisure asset for the city which would secure the future of the Cains beer brand and the brewery for decades to come. Cities like Manchester and Newcastle have been unable to save their traditional breweries but we know this scheme will ensure Liverpool has a thriving and historic brewery building for future generations.

“We will create a vibrant, independent and varied destination for people to live, work and enjoy which complements the rest of the city’s assets and dramatically improves the appearance of one of the city’s most important arterial routes. Our proposals would also make a significant contribution to the city’s ambitions to regenerate the Baltic Triangle.”

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: ““There is much work to be done to bring the scheme to fruition and it will have to be considered properly by our planning committee but we are fully behind the plans in principle and extremely excited about the positive impact it will have on a key city site.

“We understand the challenges businesses such as Cains face and believe this scheme is the right way forward for both the Cains brand and the city as a whole.”

Louise Ellman, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: “This is an exciting and creative scheme which will see the restoration of one of the city’s key heritage assets and the creation of a new visitor attraction for an important part of Liverpool. The proposals enable a proud brewing tradition in the city to become the focus of regeneration. I back these proposals.”

Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said: “Cains’ exciting and transformational scheme has been specifically identified within the City Centre Strategic Investment Framework as a key project contributing to the economic development of Baltic Triangle. It will add to the growing business and residential mix as well as helping the area become a dynamic and creative neighbourhood.

“With these proposals there is also clearly the potential for Brewery Village to be a tourist anchor at the southern need of the city centre, linking into the Marina and waterfront and helping to create a new hub of activity for visitors to the city.”

Adam Hall, managing director of architects Falconer Chester Hall, said: “We are taking inspiration from right across the world and have examined similar schemes in the US, Canada and Europe where they have brought the new and old together to create truly atmospheric and vibrant destinations.

“The plans will mean restoring the historic brewery building to glories not seen for a hundred years. There will be nothing quite like it in the North West of England so we are confident it will quickly become a new reason for tourists to come to Liverpool.”

Mark Worcester, director of town planners Turley Associates, said: “The grade II listed brewery complex has been under-utilised for a number of years and large areas of the building have become vacant and are deteriorating. Planning permission and listed building consent is now sought to accommodate a range of uses within the listed building, informed by a clear understanding of its historic and architectural significance and specialist commercial advice.

“A viable and vibrant mix of uses is proposed that will complement the building and English Heritage has confirmed that it considers the scheme to be ‘a constructive way of finding a new use for some otherwise challenging, nationally significant buildings’.”

The project team includes Turley Associates, FCH Architects, Colliers International, Mott MacDonald, Amion Consulting,Muir Associates, Davis Langdon, Penny Anderson Associates, AECOM, Tushingham Moore and Paver Smith.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .