Brewery expansion plan unveiled

By David Lennard

A BREWING company has unveiled details of the latest stage of its multi-million-pound redevelopment of its Southwold site.

Adnams has submitted a planning application to extent the beer fermenting room at its Sole Bay brewery.

If the new development gets the go-ahead, it will see the Victoria Street fermenting room increase from its present 432 sq metres to 704 sq metres, allowing for new tanks and equipment to be installed.

The project is the latest phase in a major investment in the brewery and confirms Adnams' commitment to Southwold.

Managing director, Jonathan Adnams, said: “We are proud of our Southwold heritage. This kind of investment shows the commitment we have for the brewery here on this site.”

The first phase of the Adnams brewery expansion saw nine new fermenting tanks delivered in a project costing in the region of £1.7million.

Three more huge tanks arrived at Southwold in January at a cost of £600,000 and the latest project will help the company meet its production targets - in the past three years demand for Adnams' beers has increased by 34%.

Mr Adnams said: “This latest stage of the development has two main purposes. It will help us increase production to meet the extra demand for our beers, but also gives us the opportunity to replace older equipment.”

He added the vast majority of the proposed work affected the internal layout of the existing building.

To create the extra space in the fermenting room, the next-door carpenters' workshop, along with offices and a storeroom, will be moved to other parts of the site.

“By making these changes, it will allow us to install new tanks and other equipment,” said Mr Adnams.

The only prominent external alteration involved would see an increase in the height of the roof over the new part of the fermenting room to match that of the rest of the building.

Waveney District Council is likely to discuss the Adnams planning application later this year.

david.lennard@eadt.co.uk