Cains unveils £50m Brewery Village plan
LIVERPOOL brewer Cains has drawn up plans for a £50m redevelopment of its base in the city that would reposition it as a leisure and tourism destination.
The brewery, owned by Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj, said the move will help safeguard its future, although the plan involves ending the production of lager under license for supermarkets with the loss of 15 of the company’s 56 jobs.
It wants to focus on craft ales and turn part of the grade II-listed headquarters building on Grafton Street into a 100-bed boutique hotel, art house cinema, food market and restaurant.
The plans, drawn up by Falconer Chester Hall, include a second phase of apartments on an adjacent site. Cains said the scheme, called Brewery Village, would secure and create in the region of 800 full-time jobs plus 60 construction jobs during the build stage.
Cains expects to submit a planning application by the end of July and wants to get started on the project next year. But a developer has not yet been appointed and no funding is in place.
Managing director Sudarghara Dusanj 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 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 traditional brewery for future generations.
“We anticipate increasing production of traditional ales by as much as 300% as a result of the scheme. 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 entire Baltic Triangle.”
