A SUCCESSFUL independent Herefordshire brewery has unveiled bold plans to expand.

Wye Valley Brewery has applied for planning permission for extensive remodelling of its site, including removing its iconic half-timber style roadside visitor centre.

Founded in Hereford in 1985, the company moved to its current location in 2002 and has developed incrementally since.

“Currently the available production capacity is constraining the growth of the business,” said the statement submitted to Herefordshire planners.

A new, larger brewhouse, extra fermentation vessels and warehouse space will enable it to nearly double production.

The visitor attraction will also be enhanced with the current distinctive half-timbered single-storey roadside building being demolished and the current three-storey brewery building immediately behind it being utilised as a larger taproom, café/restaurant, visitor centre and reception area.