Just been on a website which said it had recently closed. If so when?!

As far as I'm aware its been closed for years. All there is now is one man and his two guard dogs.

It's been closed for at least 10 years. It's now owned by that farming / plant guy in the Loxley Valley who used to upset people by spreading shredded paper on his land... blast I can't remember his name :roll:

Edit... Martin Hague!

No disrespect to Kelham Island and Abbeydale but Sheffield hasn't got one major brewery now.
The closure of Ward's was a scandal. I don't know why the council couldn't have helped save it by designating it as an industrial site (for planning purposes) to save it from predatory developers.
It was making money as well as beer! Management made a realistic offer but there was more to be made from stripping the equipment, making 200 people redundant and selling the site to a property developer.
I think the stainless steel hop they installed outside the apartments is taking the p***.

You forgot to mention the *cough* accidental fire just after the closure.

It wasn't predatory developers, it was that Vaux decided to get out of brewing and concentrate on thier hotel business.

The site was designated for industry and had to go to the Deputy Prime Minister for permission to deviate from the UDP. Blame Labour for the demise of Wards if you like ;)

And as it turned out Vaux made less money selling the site for development than the management buyout was offering to buy the business.

I think that they had concerns over the Monopolies & Mergers Commision as well at the time.

I will stand corrected, but I think that the direction they saw the business going, they had to close down the brewing arm regardless. As it turns out, Vaux is no more anyway.

Sad all round really. :(

Originally posted by Andy C
And as it turned out Vaux made less money selling the site for development than the management buyout was offering to buy the business. If that's the case I can't understand why it was turned down. I find it difficult to believe, looking at those apartments, that it wasn't a license to print money.
Are any of Ward's old managers reading this forum?

i believe that you will find that Cannon Brewery shut about 5 years ago and production moved to Burton.Hope brewery on Claywheels lane shut 10 years ago .These closures were a direct result of the "Beer Orders " brought in by the Tory Government.These {with much pressure from CAMRA } stopped the breweries being able to own alot of pubs and brew beer aswell.What happened then was the breweries sold the pubs to pub companies who shut the pubs that used to be subsidised by the breweries.The breweries were then sqeezed on profit margins by the pub companies so they sold or shut the breweries and moved into hotels .So thanks to the tories and to CAMRA that is why there are no proper breweries left in Sheffield

Does it really matter?

Funnily enough, the direct effect of the 'Beer Orders' has been an explosion in micro breweries. We now have more choice than at any time in living memory!

Maybe the Government got that one right? ;)

Mind you, it doesn't stop CAMRA from winging as usual.

I'm pretty sure the Beer Orders were abolished in 2002.