Stockport's Robinsons Brewery to relocate after 182 years

Robinsons Brewery has been based at its Unicorn Brewery site since 1838

A brewery which has been based in a town for 182 years is to relocate its operations in a £12m move.

Robinsons Brewery, which stands in Lower Hillgate in Stockport has announced it will move the entire firm to its Bredbury site.

A brewhouse and office accommodation will also be built and are expected to open in 2025.

The brewery's directors said it had been a "difficult decision" to relocate but there would be no job losses.

Everything from the brewing, cask racking and kegging to the logistics is to be housed at one site for the first time since 1949, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Robinsons has been based at its Unicorn Brewery site since William Robinson acquired the Unicorn Inn in 1838.

Directors William and Oliver Robinson said they were "very respectful" of the firm's "long history" in Stockport town centre.

However they said the "economic and logistical limitations of the site were impossible to ignore".

The £12m project includes creating a brewhouse and office accommodation, expected to open in 2025

Around 50 employees and Robinsons' famous shire horses will make the move from Lower Hillgate to Bredbury, where Robinsons' packaging operation has been based for more than 40 years.

The firm says the move will support its wider recruitment plans, linked to the acquisition of new pubs.

The brewery is currently working on proposals to reopen The Bull's Head in Market Square later this year and it is liaising with Stockport Council over possible uses for the present brewery site.

Stockport Council leader Elise Wilson said the relocation project was "good news for jobs" in Stockport.

"We look forward to seeing their future plans for the town centre site as they are developed over the coming months," she added.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]