A brewery has lodged plans to relocate to Caerphilly town and open a new bar.
Brew Monster has announced it it leaving its headquarters in Cwmbran after three years to move into the former Plumbsave UK shop at Lon y Twyn, near the Twyn School.
The relocation of the brewery will also see it open a new tap room at its new base.
Opening hours for the brewery will be limited to 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, while the tap room will open from 12pm to 11pm Monday to Sunday.
One full-time skilled job for the brewery and two part-time staff for the taproom will be taken on as a result of the development.
A planning statement says the brewery plans to “invest heavily into the building in the coming years to improve its appearance and functionality”.
“Making the site more attractive will benefit both local residents and help the business to attract more customers,” it says.
Brewery tours and beer tasting events are also planned at the new base.
“It is anticipated that the combination of tap room serving beers brewed on site and brewery tours will bring tourists to the town,” the planning statement adds.
“Beer tourism is an increasing trend, and is likely to increase as more households spend their holidays in the UK post lockdown.”
The brewery plans to seek accreditation with a recognised body such as Visit Wales once the project is complete.
It is expected that the bar is more likely to “attract customers that are more focused on tasting and learning about the variety of beers in smaller quantities than drinking high volumes of alcohol”.
Brew Monster started in 2017 when four friends – a brewer, an accountant, a sale manager and a designer – came together with a dream of opening an independent brewery in Wales.
They have since opened bars in Cardiff, Llantwit Major and Barry, with the lease of its Cwmbran headquarters coming to an end last month.
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I know for a fact, because my elderly Mam lives in East View, that the last thing the local residents of East View want on their doorstep is a drinking establishment, however slickly their marketing pitch has been made in this paper. In support of this statement I’m sure the the council will confirm if approached, that numerous objections have already been lodged against these plans by the local residents.
In addition to the people living in East View, some of whom are elderly, the school yards of both Twyn Infants and Twyn Junior schools, are both within a stones throw of these premises, and it’s not right that a drinking establishment is given permission to carry out its trade within such close proximity to both schools where young children are learning and playing.