Go-ahead looks likely for brewery project on former school site

Planning officials have advised that R and M Swaine Ltd – owners of Rhythm and Booze and the Barnsley Beer Company – should be given planning permission for a brewery on the site of the former Dunford Hazlehead Centre on the A616 Whams Road, near Penistone.

If given the go-ahead the company, founded in 1987 by father and son team Ronnie and Martin Swaine, would also improve the safety of a notorious junction which has been the scene of a number of fatal car crashes.

Just two people have lodged objections with Barnsley Council regarding the plans, citing road safety at the crossroads where the B6106 crosses the A616 as the main concern.

The Campaign for Real Ale, meanwhile, has written to the council in support of the planning application, saying that the brewery would be "important for the local community and business".

R and M Swaine says it requires new premises after a recent expansion of the Rhythm and Booze chain, which acquired another 34 off-licences across south, east and north Yorkshire earlier this year.

The current building on the Whams Road site is a school, built in 1901, which became an outdoor pursuits centre in 1985. In 2002 planning permission was given to convert the building into homes, but these plans were never implemented and the vacant school has since fallen into dereliction.

If the brewery plans are given the go-ahead then "unsightly" extensions to the original school building will be removed and new extensions built in their place.

The school building itself, meanwhile, will be converted to two-storey offices, the car park will be extended and a "natural habitat" area with a wild flower meadow will be created.

Barnsley Council planning officials say, in a report to today's planning committee meeting: "The business has grown significantly and further expansion is expected both through the existing chains and diversification into the real and cask ale market. The business therefore requires a larger headquarters for the staff numbers expected.

"The proposals will remove the unsightly flat roof extensions presently on the site and will restore and refurbish the original school building to form a focus of the scheme."

They add that the brewery could be an "interesting tourism venue and visitor attraction".

"It is intended that the brewery will be open at evenings and weekends and guided tours to show the brewing process in progress", the report says.

Planners also say the intended safety improvements at the Whams Road and Bents Road junction would be welcomed:

"The council's highways section has never been able to achieve any improvement to visibility at this junction due to not having ownership of the land.

"However, through this proposal the inclusion of a 215-metre visibility splay to the south of the junction has been negotiated, which is considered to substantially improve highway safety."

Recommending approval, officers say that the "special circumstances" outweigh the fact that the site lies on green belt land.

The report adds: "On balance the positives from the scheme – which will create 40 additional jobs, diversify the rural economy and present a new tourist attraction, as well as improving the visibility of a poor road junction and developing 50 per cent of the site with a wild flower meadow and nature walk which shall benefit the local ecology – are considered to outweigh any detrimental impact or harm."

Today's planning committee meeting begins at 2pm at Barnsley Town Hall.