Bristol brewery to open in Stokes Croft Carriageworks

Westmoreland House, adjacent to the Carriageworks, was demolished in 2018

A popular Bristol brewery is planning to open a new bar on the ground floor of an historic building.

Left Handed Giant is applying for a premises licence to convert the ground floor of the Victorian Carriageworks in Stokes Croft.

The 19th-century building was recently redeveloped into apartments, but the ground floor is still empty.

The Carriageworks is Grade-II listed, but was left derelict for decades before the recent conversion.

The redevelopment has previously been described as an "investment opportunity" which could negatively impact small businesses in the area.

The structure, along with adjacent Westmoreland House, has been converted into 143 apartments, retail units and a marketplace that local developer PG Group says will "enhance the neighbourhoods' independent spirit".

The developer said: "From the outset we looked to work with local and independent businesses that fit with the colourful feel of Stokes Croft's community."

The Carriageworks was considered by many to be an "eyesore"

Left Handed Giant launched in Bristol in 2017, going on to raise £1m from the local community via Crowdfunding to open its first pub in the city centre.

The business is now community owned, and said it aims to "execute an employee buy-out within the next three years" to become one of the UK's few employee-owned breweries.

According to the application, the bar will be open until 01.30 from Thursday to Saturday and until 12:30 from Sunday to Wednesday, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The brewery, which is based in St Philip's, also has bars on King Street, North Street in Bedminster, and Finzels Reach opposite Castle Park.

Councillors will decide whether to grant the new licence during a licensing hearing on Thursday, 6 July.