A leading North West brewery and pub retailer has acquired premises in Heswall, on the Wirral, Merseyside, and is set to open a new pub restaurant that will create at least 35 jobs.
Salford-based Hydes brewery has acquired the building in Heswall on Telegraph Road, which will see the conversion of the town’s former police station into a premium dining and drinking establishment. Hydes have also chosen to name the pub ‘The Harry Beswick’ in honour of the original architect of the building.
Born in Chester in 1856, Harry Beswick was county architect for Chester from 1895 until 1926, responsible for designing over 40 buildings including numerous police stations and school buildings.
The £1.3million acquisition of the building is Hydes’ first property acquisition in over five years. The building has been empty for several years and over the next few months will be transformed into a premium pub dining venue serving both quality food and drinks.
Hydes intends to invest over £2.3million in the restoration and refurbishment. It will open in late 2023 with a 35-strong team of fully trained staff.
Heswall police station was originally built in 1911 from red brick with sandstone and regional detailing including the county flag of Cheshire corn sheafs at the centre of the County Constabulary plaque.
The transformation of the building will be carried out by WHB Construction and designed by DV8 Architects. The iconic building will undergo a sympathetic and complementary renovation programme, retaining many of the original features, with design enhancements and touches reflecting the station’s history.
Part of the renovations will be to extend the building to create new dining zones, including outside dining with the addition of a welcoming sun facing terrace and the provision of car parking, resulting in a positive contribution to the street scene, and vibrancy of the town centre.
Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets, craft style bars and traditional community pubs. Hydes currently operates one other establishment on the Wirral, the Boat House in nearby Neston.
Managing director of Hydes Brewery, Adam Mayers said: “The Harry Beswick is a great location in a stunningly designed building boasting real history and character. Heswall is a thriving area and launching the Harry Beswick opens us up to new audiences.
“We are working hard to make sure The Harry Beswick will deliver a great experience for customers in the area with a quality, contemporary new design scheme and feel combined with a premium dining and drinking experience and Hydes’ standards of customer service.”
The acquisition forms part of an ongoing multi-million investment programme across the Hydes’ estate over the next few years. Last year, Hydes committed over £4.5m to refurbishments of pubs across its estate and it intends to increase that investment substantially throughout 2023.
Adam Mayers continued: “It’s great to see after years of closure the building being developed, fully retaining its heritage and history, which is very important to us and our customers. As one of our premium pub dining pubs we’re confident that customers will love the Harry Beswick and also see it as a lasting honour to one of the area’s famous local residents.
“Hydes remains totally committed to all of the pubs across its estate and this latest investment is part of an ongoing programme of planned investment, redesigns and refurbishments. Providing our customers with a quality, memorable experience is a top priority, and we’re delighted to have secured such a stunning presence in Heswall.”
Hydes, with its brewery in Media City, Salford, was formed in 1863 and supplies beers to wholesalers, pub companies and other brewers throughout the UK and a pub retailing estate of nearly50 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.
