Redruth's derelict brewery to be 'transformed'

The plan includes a mix of cultural buildings, public spaces, workspaces and housing

The former site of a Cornish brewery will be transformed with £1.7m funding from the European Regional Development Fund, Cornwall Council has said.

Two fires - in 2011 and 2013 - destroyed many of the buildings at the site in Redruth.

Work will now start on a flood alleviation scheme to prepare the site for redevelopment.

The scheme proposed for the site includes a mix of cultural buildings, public spaces, workspaces and housing.

The creation of Kresen Kernow, the new archive centre for Cornwall, will provide a home for the stories of Cornwall and will help to reinforce Redruth's ambition to become a cultural destination.

Many of the buildings on the site in Redruth were destroyed by a fire in 2011

There has also been private investment from the owners of the site Sino Land Limited.

Sino chairman Horace Yao said: "This funding, along with our contribution of £600,000, will enable the master plan for the whole site to move forward so that Redruth Brewery can, once again, become a thriving part of the community."

Heritage building professionals are looking at the remains of the historic brew-house to see what can be kept and incorporated into the new developments.

John Pollard, the leader of the council, said: "The funding will enable an area of historical importance to continue to thrive into the 21st Century with community, culture and job creation at the heart of the regeneration of the site."

Redruth Brewery, which was founded by William Davey in 1742, closed in 2004.

By the middle of the 19th Century, the brewery had expanded to include three malt houses, counting houses, an engine and boiler house, sheds, a carpenter's shop, beer store, aerated water factory, water tank and water reservoir.