Row erupts over brewery's move and pub closure

The owners of a village brewery have announced they are moving production 20 miles away and closing the in-house pub.

Halewood, the company that owns Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley, Cumbria, said the current site was unsustainable and parking charges introduced by the landlord made the on-site bar unprofitable.

Four bar staff would lose their job, the company said, with brewery workers being offered the opportunity to move to the new site in Flookburgh.

But landlord David Brockbank said attempts to engage with the company were met with a "wall of silence" and disputed claims the parking charges impacted trade.

Halewood said the pub was shutting with immediate effect and the move to the Flookburgh site was necessary for its beers to be "competitive on price" as it looked to expand its products.

A Halewood spokesman said the leased Staveley site was not energy efficient and its manually operated equipment would be "unable to cope with the increased volumes" of production.

They added parking charges introduced by Mr Brockbank's company had "deterred customers" of the Hawkshead Bar, which was also leased.

But Mr Brockbank said since the charges were introduced in March, they had recorded "an incredibly steady" number of customers.

He added he was exploring the possibility of creating a community brewery and pub there instead, but that would require support from Halewood.

He said: "After enjoying the support of our community for many years, we are hopeful they will see fit to pay that back by leaving the unit intact."

Hawkshead Brewery opened in 2002 in a barn in the village of Hawkshead and moved to the Staveley site in 2006.

Halewood bought the brewery in 2017 and opened a site in Flookburgh the following year, adding a new distillery there last year.

Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron said he felt the Hawkshead staff had been treated poorly, having been given short notice of the changes.

He added he was "gutted" about Halewood's decision.

"It feels the company have let down - even betrayed - that community, that village, which has underpinned them and helped them make the reputation that they have," he said.

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