Spoilt by progress? Reactions to Banks's closure

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Residents in Wolverhampton have said the closure of Banks's Brewery is a major loss to the city's heritage as well as jobs in the area.

Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company (CMBC) announced on Tuesday that the site would close in autumn next 2025 as part of a restructuring process, putting 97 jobs at risk.

The brewery marks its 150th anniversary next year. Its towering chimney and lingering smell of hops have become treasured landmarks.

Local resident Julie Bugler told BBC News the news of its closure had come as a shock, adding the brewery was a key part of the city's history.

"That brewery, from as far back as I can remember from being a little girl, and smelling the hops as I've gone past - I just think it's an awful shame that that's something else out of Wolverhampton," she said.

Resident Julie Bugler said she remembered smelling the hops in Wolverhampton as a child

Fellow resident Monica Williams also felt it was a bad decision.

"I think they could've done a lot better than let that close down," she said.

Narinder Singh added that it was a "sad fact" that so many people could lose their jobs as a result.

CMBC said the closure followed a decision from Spanish brewing firm Mahou San Miguel to not renew its partnership from 2025, as well as the decline of cask ale volumes over several years.

However, it added the closure had been "an extremely difficult decision".

The brewery has been operating in the city since 1875

Henry Carver, president of Wolverhampton Business Forum, said the impact would be felt across the city.

"It's a city centre that is still struggling with a very high empty shops," he said.

"For me, the biggest single thing is there will be a huge amount of people made redundant."

Wolverhampton West MP Warinder Juss said it was "devastating news" and it was a big blow for the city's history and cultural heritage, but he planned to meet council members in the coming days as well as union representatives.

He said he had yet to speak to the firm, but wanted to know why the decision had been made, as he had heard it would be investing £6m in a brewery in Burton upon Trent.

Warinder Juss, MP for Wolverhampton West, said he visited the brewery a few months ago and had no indication it was going to close

"There is still the need to carry out the manufacturing so I don't know at the moment why it cannot be done in Wolverhampton," the MP said.

"I am going to fight for this, as I said in my maiden speech [in Parliament], I would fight for the brewery."

He said he recently visited the site and spent time seeing how it operated and had no indication then that it was in danger of closing.

Local resident Monica Williams said it was a bad decision to close the plant

A spokesperson from the Wolverhampton branch of the Campaign for Real Ale said they were upset and angry at the news, but felt it was "on the cards" since Marston's sold its 40% stake in CMBC in July.

"I love a good pint of Banks's Mild, but it looks like it and many others may now be doomed to be nothing more than assets in a corporate ledger," they added.

A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson said the authority was "saddened and disappointed".

They said Council Leader Stephen Simpkins had written to the brewery to arrange a meeting in order to "fully understand the reasons, support affected employees and mitigate the impact on the Wolverhampton economy."

CMBC said it would now begin a consultation process with the 97 staff.

It said while it would look for opportunities for redeployment, redundancies were "likely".