The owners of Beartown Brewery have submitted plans to relocate to a "new larger premises" in Bosley, which would allow the company to "increase their capacity" and "enter new markets".

Manning Brewers has applied for the change of use of an industrial building at Barefoot Park, on Buxton Road, Bosley, to a brewery with ancillary offices with storage, servicing, shop and taproom.

The existing site comprises a vacant large industrial style two-storey building with a large car park to the east of the junction of the A523 and the A54.

Manning Brewers Ltd was formed in 2016 after acquiring Beartown Brewery and since that time has increased production and sales to approximately 600,000 litres of craft ale per annum which is "restricted by the current premises" on Bromley House, Spindle Street, Congleton.

The company continues to retain and operates under the Beartown Brewery brand.

The company seeks to increase its capacity, to around 2,000,000 litres per annum, which requires a "new larger premises" and the investment of around £500,000 in automated modern brewery equipment.

It is anticipated that the expansion would create a minimum of 10 jobs and allow the company to "enter new markets".

Plande, who has been appointed as the planning agent to submit a supporting statement for the change of use application, stated: "Currently, the majority (80%) of beer produced by Manning Brewery is sold in casks with the rest sold in kegs, bottles and cans. The majority of the brewery sales currently is direct to pubs.

"The proposed shop and taproom will help the company to reach a wider audience and expand its market accordingly, increasing its sales of bottles and cans.

"It is suggested that there are currently no other Breweries within a 10-mile radius of the proposed site.

"In seeking larger premises, a key factor was staying within a short radius of Congleton due to the story and synergy that the brand was built on.

"The applicants have not been able to find comparable, appropriate and available premises within the area.

"It is the applicants' intention to continue to push towards a carbon-free brewing process, with reduced water and energy consumption."

Manning Brewers intend to utilise a small proportion of the existing floor space, within the premises as a taproom, for customers to visit the property to sample and purchase the craft beer , as well as testing them for consumption at a later time.

The brewery intends to operate around 40 hours per week, from Monday to Friday (8am to 5pm). The shop and taproom are only expected to open for a very limited time, with no more than a few people in per day expected.

In their supporting statement, Plande added: "The brewery currently produces around 11,500 litres per week on average at their existing premises with an estimated increase to around 38,500 litres per week once the new facility is up to full capacity, with an expected tiny percentage of this associated with taproom and shop.

"At the applicant's current site, the bottle shop and taproom sales represent less than 1% of the revenue associated with the brewery.

"They would not anticipate this changing at the new site."

The existing site plan illustrates there are 12, formally laid out, car parking spaces on site at present, however there is a "substantial area of hardstanding".

The proposals suggest formally laying out additional parking spaces within the existing hard landscaped area, including two disabled spaces, giving a total of 26 spaces. Dedicated cycle parking spaces are also proposed.

The last date for submitting comments on the application, which can be viewed here is 10 March.

Cheshire East has set 29 March as the decision target date for the application.