Brewery tap plan for Hebden Bridge railway station submitted

Halifax-based Darkland Brewery need listed-building consent for the ambitious plans

Apr 08, 2026

Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.

I hope you all had a good Easter Weekend and enjoyed some of the sunshine on offer.

In today’s edition, my LDR colleague John Greenwood has a story on a subject very close to my heart - beer!

He’s reporting that Halifax-based Darkland Brewery have submitted a plan to turn a building at Hebden Bridge station into a brewery tap. Full details are below.

Plus, we’ve got a couple of nuggets in the Calderdale Digest…

Calderdale Digest

💷 More than 260,000 hard-working people across Yorkshire and the Humber will see their pay increase as the Government raises the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates.

As Minister for Employment Rights, Halifax’s MP Kate Dearden has been using her role in Government to stand up for working families in Halifax.

After hearing from employees across Halifax about the impact that insecure and low-paid work has on their lives, Ms Dearden has worked closely with the Government to deliver this uplift in wages, ensuring that local residents are paid fairly for a hard day’s work.

The increase means workers in some of the country’s most essential roles — from cleaners starting shifts before dawn, to care workers supporting elderly residents through the night – will take home more money each month, as the Government delivers on its commitment to improve living standards.

Workers on the National Living Wage will see their hourly rate rise to £12.71, an increase of 50p per hour. This means a full-time worker on the NLW will be around £900 better off over the course of a year.

🌦️ A film showing potential impact of climate breakdown on a number of issues will be screened in Hebden Bridge this month – but people wanting to see it might have to wait a while.

The film – The People’s Emergency Briefing – was made by the National Emergency Briefing (NEB) initiative, which is a UK‑based public information project.

Fronted by Chris Packham and featuring contributions from scientists and other public figures, it is being screened at Hebden Bridge Town Hall on Thursday, April 16, at 7pm.

The free screening has sold out fast – but the organisers are urging anyone interested to register their interest for any returned tickets, and for future screenings which are planned.

In November 2025, more than 1,200 MPs, peers and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media gathered at Westminster Central Hall for the initial, national, NEB briefing, from which the film has been created.

The aim is that this will be shown in communities around the country and Hebden Bridge will be one of the first to see it, say local organisers.

The briefing covers the impact of climate and nature breakdown for food security, health, national security, infrastructure and the economy, alongside practical evidence on how risks can still be reduced, they said.

Brewery seek permission for tap room venture at Hebden Bridge station

By John Greenwood

A Grade II-listed Calderdale railway station could soon boast a taproom selling beers from a local brewery – and guests – if they can gain a planning consent.

But Darkland Brewery will need to use a portion of a waiting room at Hebden Bridge Rail Station to create a key cold store, if planners agree.

The brewery, based just outside Halifax, has applied to Calderdale Council seeking listed building consent to make that change.

The brewery team say they have developed a plan for the vacant unit with two primary objectives – designing a taproom that “respects and complements” the station’s historic features, and ensuring the operation is viable and sustainable, justifying a long-term commitment.

Darkland, established in 2018, hope to create a cold store in the station waiting room, to the east of the proposed two bar rooms.

For security reasons, a portion of the room would need to be partitioned off to house the cold store unit.

But a large part of the room would remain available for use by the travelling public, and this has given approval by rail operator Northern, according to the application.

In a supporting statement, Darkland says: “Our plan includes offering six to eight hand-pulled cask beers, including guest selections from like-minded local microbreweries.

“To achieve this and maintain the highest quality and freshness, we require a large cold room located as close to the bar as possible.”

They further explain: “To present these beers at their best, they must be rested and vented near the beer engines (hand-pull pumps) to minimise the distance the beer travels during dispensing.

“Given these requirements, creating a cold storage area within part of the waiting room would provide the optimal environment for the beers to flourish.”

A small hole would be need to cut in the wall between the waiting room and the bar, in order for the pipework to pass through, however this would not need to be very large, and could potentially be filled in and plastered over should the bar use cease, says the brewery.

“Whilst the introduction of partitioning into the current waiting room would have an impact on that space, it would not really impact upon the external appearance of the listed building,” they argue.

The cutting of the small holes – another would be needed for a drain – would be reversible and the limited harm that they would cause to the listed building would be more than outweighed by the benefit of giving the building a viable use which would provide enhanced facilities for rail passengers and visitors to Hebden Bridge, argues Darkland.

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