Shaun Ward is well known to residents of Ludlow. For more than a decade he served Laurence’s Church as Director of Music, Clerk of Works and Executive Manager. In 2019, he left St Laurence’s to concentrate on his gin business, which is going from strength to strength – if you will pardon the pun.
Now, Shropshire Hills Distillery is planning to consolidate its two current sites with a single site on the Ludlow Farmshop (Food Centre) site at Bromfield. The plans include a distillery, a bar, a shop, a gin garden and a “gin school” where visitors will be able to mix their own gin.
The mind wobbles at the thought. A licence application has been submitted for the premises. Ludlow Distillery will use an existing building.
The application is welcome.
The food centre site will attract more visitors. The A49/A4113 junction remains one of the most dangerous in the area. Serious consideration needs to be given to reducing the speed limit through Bromfield to 40mph.
The licence application is to open the Ludlow Distillery 09:00 – 23:00 Monday to Sunday, with supply of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises 09:00 – 22:30 daily. Subject to approval of the licence, and I cannot see any objection to that, the venture will open in spring 2023.
The building is across two floors, the ground floor is used for a production area which is sectioned off from the public and another section which is part of tours to be able to see the copper stills. The ground floor will also have a retail store at the entrance to the building which will have a small bar for product tasting and simple serves. The 1st Floor will have a taproom bar and a gin school. The taproom bar will host wine & spirit tasting events for around twenty guests. We will be looking at adding an outside area possibly in the summer months, which is just outside of the retail shop. This would be a small seating area with parasols.
This proposal will increase the offer at of Bromfield site, which is already one of the area’s top tourist attractions.
I am concerned about road safety in Bromfield. The growing importance of the food centre site will increase traffic on a road with two unsafe junctions.
In works a few years ago, National Highways marked out a right turn ghost lane on the A49 travelling north. The width of the ghost lane is minimal and with trucks thundering past at 50mph, it is not a comfortable turn for motorists. A little further north, the junction of the A49 and A4113 is notorious for accidents.
The problem is that traffic is going too fast. Drivers and riders making turns and those pressing on with their journeys north and south don’t have enough time to react. The A49 through Bromfield should be slowed to 40mph at the earliest opportunity.
unless a specific parking area is marked off for deliveries to and customers of the PLant Centre, I fear that the “gin” visitors will block access to the plant centre and ultimately render the plant centre unviable.
this needs to be taken into account when planning the setting up of the site.