Bradford Brewery plans unveiled
PLANS have been unveiled to create a new brewery and brewpub in the heart of Bradford city centre.
Bradford Brewery and its attached pub, The Brewfactory, will be launched later this summer following the restoration of an historic disused industrial building off Westgate.
Plans have been submitted to Bradford Council seeking permission to convert the former Shaw House, once the headquarters of Shaw’s Moisture Meters. The company’s famous philanthropist founder, professor Len Shaw, made his fortune from inventing, developing and selling moisture-sensing technology for use in the textile industry.
The building has lain empty since 2006 when Shaws moved to new premises in Bolton Lane, Bradford.
The launch of Bradford Brewery will see the return of brewing to Bradford city centre for the first time since the closure of Hammonds Bradford Brewery in 1955.
The £400,000 brewery project is part-funded by a Bradford Council Growth Zone grant which will go towards refurbishing the building and buying the huge 10BBL brewery, with an initial production capacity of 16,000 pints per week.
The entrepreneur behind the new brewery, Bradford-born Matthew Halliday, was recently awarded funding and business advice on the project by former Dragon’s Den star, Doug Richards.
Matthew has worked for some years in the charity sector, starting as a fundraiser for Manorlands Sue Ryder Hospice in Oxenhope and more recently as non-executive director of Bradford’s Bevan Healthcare and chief executive of a London-wide health charity, and has always split his time between the capital and Bradford.
Former pub licensee Halliday believes there’s a fast-growing local and national market for interesting and innovative craft-brewed lagers and ales, with microbreweries coming to the forefront.
He said: “The idea to launch Bradford Brewery came from my love of London’s craft beer drinking scene. Yorkshire is slowly catching up but we’re a long way behind. I wanted to do something positive for Bradford and hope that Bradford Brewery will not only produce some great beers, but also help to change perceptions of our great city. There’s a huge amount of incredible innovation going on in Bradford right now and we’re excited to be playing a part in that. We’ve got long-term plans for the business and have aspirations of seeing Bradford beers on every bar across the district.”
Colin Glass, of Winburn Glass Norfolk has been appointed as non-executive director.
The scheme, located a stone’s-throw from the ever popular North Parade beer scene, will create 11 full time jobs in the long-term and many more involved in the design and construction of the brewery.
The building is on four storeys and the plan is to house the brewery and pub on staggered levels. The scheme will pay homage to the factory heritage with aptly-named bar areas like the Workshop and Calibration rooms. One striking feature will be a glass wall allowing visitors to look directly from The Brewfactory bar into the brewery. From here they will be able to watch the beer being brewed before they drink it.
Designer David Craig of David Craig Design Consultancy in Saltaire said: “The main challenge has been to retain something of Bradford’s industrial heritage while not creating public areas which are too stark as the brewpub and visitor areas must feel warm and welcoming to everyone.”
David Robertson-Brown, director of Gumption Centres, works under contract for Bradford Council within the Bradford city centre Growth Zone. He said: “We’re delighted to be able to support Bradford Brewery – this is exactly the kind of business we want to see in the Bradford city centre Growth Zone. Not only will the company be manufacturing their own product on site and supplying the trade, but they’ll also be adding to the city’s retail offer and helping to build Bradford’s night time economy. It will help generate footfall for other businesses on Westgate and should attract other property investments into the area.
“This is a quality scheme that will bring an empty building back into business use on a highly visible site and will create at least 11 new jobs for Bradford people.
As a manufacturer, Bradford Brewery also meets the council’s ambition for developing a Producer City where things are made and goods are sold further afield. We look forward to the brewery flourishing and flying the flag for Bradford for many years to come.”
The Growth Zone is the council’s £35m initiative to attract businesses back into the city centre and to equip the local community with the skills they need to get the jobs.
