The landlord of Hawkshead Brewery and Beer Hall has hit out at the decision of owner Halewood Artisanal Spirits to shutter the site.
David Brockbank said he had made “repeated attempts” to persuade Halewood to stay on, but had been met with “a wall of silence” over the last four months.
“I’ve tried to talk to them and see if they would be wiling to hand it over to another small brewery or the employees but they just wouldn’t talk to me,” he said.
Despite the decision to shut the brewery and taproom with immediate effect, Halewood’s lease at the site was not due to expire until the end of next year, Brockbank said.
“It doesn’t seem to make any sense,” he added.
He also dismissed suggestions car parking charges brought in at Staveley Mill Yard had resulted in reduced footfall at Hawkshead Brewery’s Beer Hall.
“We strongly refute any suggestions that parking charges on site are responsible for a drop in trade and it seems most people have seen through this flimsy narrative,” he said.
“Indeed, since they were implemented in March, we have recorded an incredibly steady number of visitors choosing to use our parking facilities.”
Halewood informed staff of its decision to close Hawkshead last week, and had already began dismantling the brewery and bar, Brockbank said.
He said many regular customers and locals in Staveley were disappointed, with some on the brewery’s Facebook page calling for a boycott of Halewood products.
“Well Halewood you’ve really outdone yourselves this time,” wrote one. “What an utterly disgusting way to treat your amazing team and loyal customers! Disgraceful! We will certainly never buy or serve any of your products again.”
Another simply added: “Halewood killed Hawkshead. Well done Halewood.”
Local MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron also criticised the decision.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter) the former Lib Dem leader said: “This is incredibly sad. I’m appalled at Halewood’s poor treatment of staff, for betraying the heritage of the brand and the brewery and deserting the community that has underpinned their success for two decades.”
Halewood CEO Stewart Hainsworth accused Brockbank of being “disengenous” with his comments, adding the company ”had countless complaints about paying for parking” after charges were introduced earlier this year.
The Whitley Neill maker told The Grocer earlier this week it needed to shift production of Hawkshead beers to a site 20 miles away in Flookburgh in order to remain competitive.
”There are apparently 12 pubs closing in the UK every week and Halewood is not a large multi-national, it is a family business with only 180 employees,” said Hainsworth. ”We have offered all the brewery staff to move to Flookburgh. We do not have opportunity to employ bar staff in Cumbria because we do not have any other bars.”
The decision has led to the equivalent of four full-time redundancies, understood to affect 12 members of staff at the site.
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