STROUD Brewery have submitted plans for a new £1 million base which will allow them to produce twice as much beer and secure a ‘final resting place’.

The new site at Kingfisher Business Park in Brimscombe sits a mere 50 metres from their current base at Phoenix Works.

Their new plans include further production and bottling space as well as a larger kitchen and office.

The site would include an improved bar area and a prime spot for the public to sit outside along the canal towpath.

Stroud Brewery managing director Greg Pilley has run the business for the past 11 years and has seen the company progress rapidly.

He notes that their bottles in particular have seen the business spread its reach across the country, its 100 per cent organic brewing method setting it apart from the pack.

Greg told the SNJ: “We’ve been searching for the past two years for somewhere larger.

“We’ve struggled to find ideal places to build, most of the brownfield sites in the local plan are reserved for housing, we also didn’t want to move far.

“To add to our urgency, the landlord has given us a notice, as they require the building for their own growth, which leaves us only six months left to relocate.

“We’re hoping these plans can be approved by the end of June.

“Of course there will be a period of uncertainty, we are due to move out in October, so we are hoping to repeat something we did in 2010 and offer a public loan, a call to action, an investment opportunity.

“The overall cost of the build is about £1 million and the cost of the site is about 40 per cent of that.”

The application states that their current facilities provide 3,500 litres per brew (roughly 5,000 pints), with two-to-three brews a week, Greg says the new base would eventually allow the brewery to produce twice that, though they are not currently squeezed for production.

This is why their new build would focus on an increase in bar, kitchen and office areas.

A large 30 metre section of the new build would face onto the canal and would feature outdoor seating.

The new base would also incorporate some sustainable design features such as the use of rainwater from the roof for washing casks and flushing toilets.

Stroud Brewery also intend to have a turf roof on their new base, which as well as bringing back some greenery to what is currently a disused a car park, would also help to muffle some the sounds from the beer production.

Greg said: “This will hopefully be our final resting home, being recognised as one of the few organic UK brewing companies has helped us do rather well, I think we’re helping to put Stroud on the map.

“I think there are a lot of people who would like to see us succeed, they [Stroud District Council] see us a business in jeopardy and the application will take due course.

“We offer using the land as an employment site and what is very different is that we also have a bar too.

“At the moment there are 650 homes in this area in the Local Plan, with 550 more on the way, everyone is quite welcome to more housing alongside employment usage.”

The new site would feature 26 car parking spaces and secure racking for 35 bikes to the rear of the building and along the towpath.

Stroud Brewery will be looking for financial support and are set to launch an opportunity for local investment, if you're interested click here.