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Ipswich: Waterfront craft beer bar gets green light

Brewdog Brewdog, Punk IPA bottlesBrewdog
Brewdog has a chain of about 70 bars across the UK

A new waterside bar has been approved by planners despite fears over anti-social behaviour.

Scottish craft beer brewery and pub operator Brewdog will open its first Suffolk venue in Ipswich.

Planning permission has been granted by Ipswich Borough Council after it granted an alcohol licence last month.

Residents had raised concerns over noise, littering and parking, but Brewdog has said the bar would be an "asset to the local community".

Jason Noble LDRS Ipswich Waterfront unitJason Noble LDRS
Around 20 jobs should be created by the opening of the Brewdog bar, which will take over an empty cafe

Brewdog will take over the boarded-up former La Tour Cycle Café unit at the Stoke Bridge end of the waterfront.

It would be its first site in Suffolk and the firm said it would spend £750,000 on refurbishment and it would employ about 20 staff when it opened.

The plans were approved by the council, subject to a range of conditions

These included that the bar would only be open from 10:00 to 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday, and 10:00 to 24:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, while noise assessment recommendations needed implementing.

Jerwood Dance House, Ipswich
The new bar would be just along the waterfront from the Jerwood DanceHouse and The Mill tower block

Brewdog has about 70 bars in the UK, with the nearest ones to Ipswich being in Norwich, Cambridge or London.

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