Cheshire: Ambitious plans to open ‘tap room’ in village pub

The Raven Inn, on Warrington Road between Culcheth and Glazebury, is eyeing up a venture with George Shaw Brewery.

Plans have been submitted to Warrington Borough Council for a proposed change of use of the first floor of the building for a tap room, and a further phase as a microbrewery.

Applicant The Raven Partnership is also seeking permission for a first-floor, single-storey rear extension and associated external works.

With a long history dating back to the medieval period, a planning application was submitted to the council in 2019 for the proposed demolition of the now-locally listed building and redevelopment of the site.

This created an uproar within the community, with a petition launched and residents rallying around together to buy, protect, preserve and restore the much-loved pub.

The ground floor of the Raven Inn has since been restored and returned once again to a public house, run and managed by the community.

Meanwhile, George Shaw’s is a traditional brewer, once the main brewery in Leigh and with an estate of more than 100 pubs during the early years of the 20th Century.

Founded in the early 19th century, brewing continued at Leigh until September 1932, when it was transferred to Walkers Brewery in Warrington, and subsequently Tetley’s.

The George Shaw’s name was revived in 2019 by enthusiasts, when the George Shaw Brewery was established as a private company.

Impressions of how The Raven Inn could look with the extended microbrewery

The long-term aspiration has been to operate a George Shaw’s brewery, with a phased approach comprising initially the establishment of a ‘brewery tap’ above The Raven Inn.

Although now in the Warrington borough, until 1934 The Raven was actually within the Leigh rural district boundary.

Planning documents state: “The basic proposal is to establish an informal ‘tap’ on the first floor of The Raven.

“This contains a number of rooms which lend themselves to the creation of a main room, a snug, a bar-storage area and a second lounge or office area.

“The project’s purpose will also extend the attraction of The Raven Inn, to improve the sustainability of the project by making the existing pub attractive to a wider range of visitors.

“It would also bring a vacant part of the historic building into active use, relevant to the history and form of the building.

“These are considered the most appropriate uses for the vacant areas of the building, but the nature of the building’s construction and requirements of the micro-brewery mean an extension to the building is necessary.”

The tap room, which plans suggest would create two full-time jobs, would offer a ‘relaxed and informal’ series of spaces, with the ability to offer events such as folk music and small functions.

A further phase which is the subject of the current planning application is developing a microbrewery at The Raven.

Plans are with the council and will be decided in due course.