An 18th century brewery in Carlisle city centre has gone on the market this week. The Old Brewery is currently owned by Impact Housing Association and was formerly used as student accommodation but has stood empty for several years whilst potential plans were considered for it to be converted to affordable housing.
However Impact has confirmed that following an independent options appraisal, its Board agreed that the Grade II listed building’s design and location meant that converting it for affordable housing was not a viable option so an alternative buyer is now being sought.
The building dates back to the 18th century and is located on Bridge Lane, overlooking the River Calder. It was previously the home of The Carlisle Old Brewery Group and is made up of six buildings, ranging from two to four storeys with a central courtyard. The 1.072 acre site is being marketed by Allsops and will be included in their residential auction on 19 September at a guide price of £75,000+
Bryonie Shaw, Managing Director of Impact said: “We have looked closely at the options and costs involved in converting the brewery into affordable housing but, after taking expert independent advice, we have concluded that we would be able to create a far greater number of affordable homes by investing on more conventional sites elsewhere.
“It’s important to stress that there is no loss to the city’s affordable housing provision as a result of this decision” she continued, “as the Brewery has never previously been used for this purpose. We are keeping our Council colleagues and other stakeholders informed, not only of our plans for selling this site but also for investing elsewhere in the borough, in partnership with The Riverside Group, to provide over 160 good quality affordable homes for local people over the next two to three years.”
“Impact is strongly committed to playing its part in helping to meet local housing need” she said, “and as well as our development programme of new homes we are also, with the support of Riverside, investing around £25 million to improve around 2,170 of our existing properties across Cumbria over the next five years. All of this is part of the pledge Riverside made to Impact when we joined the Group in 2018.”
Interested purchasers for the Old Brewery site can find more information here or by calling Jamie Clarke on 0207 344 2644.
