A row has erupted over the closure of an award-winning beer hall in a South Lakeland village.

Halewood Artisanal Spirits, owners of Hawkshead Brewery, issued redundancy notices on September 4 to 12 full and part-time staff with the establishment expected to close on September 22.

Three of the staff have been offered the chance to transfer with the business as it relocates the brewery to its Flookburgh site.

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But members of the community in Staveley were shocked when they witnessed what they say was the bar being 'ripped out' unexpectedly on Tuesday (September 10).

Halewood blamed car parking charges at the site in Staveley Mill Yard for reducing business at the beer hall and wished to consolidate its brewing at Flookburgh, near Cartmel.

It said it wished to utilise its larger 'state of the art' Krones Beer Line and said the Staveley site is leased and is 'not sustainable from an efficiency point of view'.

It said its manually operated equipment would be unable to cope with the increased volumes.

Mill Yard owner David Brockbank said he wanted to help set up a small local brewery procuring craft beers and run as a co-operative.

He also refuted that car parking charges should be to blame for the closure.

(Image: Mel Connell) He said: "We’re naturally disappointed to be losing a popular tenant but our thoughts right now are with the 12 team members who have lost their livelihoods

"We have made repeated attempts to engage with Halewood over the last four months in the hope of finding a constructive way forward, but these attempts have been met with a wall of silence.

"We strongly refute any suggestions that parking charges on site are responsible for a drop in trade and it seems most people have seen through this flimsy narrative.

"Indeed, since they were implemented in March, we have recorded an incredibly steady number of visitors choosing to use our parking facilities.

(Image: Mel Connell) "Our focus now is on supporting Halewood to vacate the premises as soon as possible and to finding a use for the unit that supports our ethos of providing a vibrant hub for the community across the wider yard complex.

"One possibility we are exploring is the creation of a community brewery and beer hall. This will, of course, require the cooperation of Halewood.

"After enjoying the support of our community for many years, we are hopeful they will see fit to pay that back by leaving the unit intact."

MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron has been vocal about the closure on social media. He said he was 'appalled' at Halewood's 'poor treatment of staff' and it 'deserting the community'.

(Image: Mel Connell) Former Hawkshead Brewery employee Adam Jamieson, who worked at the bar around five years ago, was present the day the removal van turned up.

"I don’t think it’s a good look that a company that predominantly sells alcohol would encourage driving to and from the beer hall," Adam said.

"Speaking to most people who work in the yard, they are happy about the parking as ultimately this isn’t a public car park and never was, this is a private industrial estate.

"A few people who took advantage of the “free car park” leaving cars for hours or days on end left them with no choice.

"There is ample free parking around and working there you knew when a bus or train had arrived because customers came in waves the bus (555) would be every hour and the train also every hour at alternate intervals i.e train 10.30am and bus at 11am."

We have approached Halewood Artisan Spirits for comment.