Construction of a £150m tourism, leisure and retail attraction on the site of Liverpool’s Cains brewery has been approved by planners.
The development will include a return to production of craft ales for sale in the UK and overseas and it is hoped that the first phase of the 1m sq ft development in Liverpool’s Baltic Quarter will be complete by summer 2016.
The plans will see the restoration of the grade 2-listed brewery building. It will house the new Cains brewery, museum and event centre and will feature a Sky Bar in the roof which will offer views over the city and the river Mersey. The building will also house a 94-room boutique hotel, courtyard bistro bar and restaurants and a large open plan retail hall for artisan food producers to make and sell their produce on site. There will also be a designer retail market for independent fashion businesses and function rooms. The existing historic Brewery Tap pub will be restored and retained. The plans also include a four-screen independent art-house cinema, a supermarket, health/beauty and fitness centre, up to 775 high quality homes and 500-plus car parking spaces. The independent art-house cinema is to have treated copper panels on the outside to reflect the copper vessels traditionally used as part of the brewing process.
Sudarghara Dusanj, managing director of Cains Brewery Village, said: “We are going to create a major new tourism and leisure asset for the city which will secure the future of the Cains beer brand and the grade 2-listed brewery for decades to come.
“We are now seeking development partners and operators for the cinema, hotel and supermarket to help take the scheme forward. We are particularly keen to speak to upmarket quality supermarket operators who want to take advantage of what is a clear gap in the city market.
“We’d like to thank the city’s planning and regeneration team for all their help in bringing this forward as well as our Baltic Triangle neighbours who have been extremely supportive and have bought into our vision.”
You can read more here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-25000992