Plans revealed for empty brewery near Birmingham as it's transformed into 'entertainment village'

Plans have been revealed for the old Sadlers Brewery in Lye. The Conyer's Trading Estate site, which closed in 2020, is set to reopen as the Steamyard Arts and Entertainment Village with a huge gig venue, events space and restored bar serving Black Country-inspired food.

The village is set to launch in phases with the Steamyard Bar the first priority according to general manager Will Young. Will, former boss at historic Birmingham pub The Woodsman, told BirminghamLive that the bar will open between July 26 and 28 for the Birmingham Jazz Festival before it runs a month of exclusive pre-launch events ahead of its official grand opening on August Bank Holiday weekend.

Once the gig venue and events space is open, there's a further five-year plan in place to further develop the site. The brewery is on the Conyer's Trading Estate and members of the Conyer family are involved in the new project creating scope for expansion into surrounding units.

Read more: The 'cracking' little Birmingham trading estate brewery with 'suntrap' you never knew existed

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The village, near Stourbridge town centre, will be served by Lye train station, which is a 25 minute direct train ride from Birmingham Snow Hill. Sadlers Brewery operated at the site from 2015 until it moved to the Lake District in 2020.

The downstairs area in which the brewing equipment was housed in the 12,000sq ft space will become 'Unit 2', hosting live music, club nights and comedy nights and serving as 'a social hub for Stourbridge'. It's be painted black with neon signage and 'cutting-edge lighting'.

Will says that the bar will 'blend the historic essence of the brewery with modern touches, offering a cozy and vibrant atmosphere'. The plan is to host top musical talent as well proving a platform for local artists.

Street food vendor Stuffed Any Way You Like is set to create a 'Stuffed at Steamyard' menu for the Steamyard Bar, featuring smash burgers, wings and local favourites like faggots and peas, black pudding and pork pies.

"It's a massive project and we want to create something really special for the Black Country and the Midlands which will cater to the modern, post-Covid preferences for going out," Will explained. The Sutton Coldfield native ran The Woodman in the city centre from 2018 until it shut in 2022.

"Sadlers was a well-loved brewery, I took my dad on a tour there before it closed. They had the taphouse upstairs while downstairs was full of brewing equipment which has been emptied out. It's been standing empty so we thought, why not do something with it?"

Will says that the venue will be a destination for visitors looking for more than just an after work drink. He said: "Everything's changed since Covid. People aren't out as much seven days a week after work, people tend to go out for a purpose now, a gig or an event, something that's been put on and thought about.

"Trade has been tough since Covid but that doesn't mean there's not space to be doing things, to create. It's just a new challenge. You can sit and get depressed about people's changing habits or you can try and ride with the market and put something on that people will come to.

"First and foremost, this is going to be brilliant for Lye. It'll hopefully bring new life in. Once we start putting the events on, there'll be interest further afield than just Stourbridge, it'll attract people from across the Midlands and become a destination."