Margaret River brewery Beerfarm lodges DA for Central Coast site

A trendy Margaret River beer maker will open a 450-seat restaurant, market garden and brewery on the Central Coast if plans for the multimillion dollar proposal are approved.

The Central Coast could be home to another microbrewery if plans for a multimillion dollar development at Halloran, near Warnervale, get the tick of approval.

Margaret River brewery Beerfarm has lodged a development application (DA) for a property on Mountain Rd, which it purchased in July last year for $2.4 million.

The proposal is to develop the eastern part of the 10ha site as a brewery and restaurant, which would include market gardens to grow fresh produce for the restaurant.

The brewery would be in a second building on the site, which would house the laboratory, mill, brewing room, packaging, and cool room.

The DA states goods and raw materials would be stored at one end of the room while the milling, mashing, boiling, fermentation and other processes would take place at the other end of the 1750sq m building.

A restaurant is proposed in the main building, which would have a 450-seat capacity at ground level and a mezzanine level, a kitchen, and bar.

The building would have a massive ground floor area of 1680sq m with a total restaurant floor area of 1369sq m — more than the size of three basketball courts.

Margaret River brewery Beerfarm (pictured) has lodged plans to build a brewery and restaurant on the Central Coast. Picture: Beerfarm (Facebook)

The DA states it would employ a lot of trades people during construction and when completed Beerfarm would employ 42 full time staff and 27 casuals.

The proposed trading hours for the restaurant would be 10am to 9pm seven days a week with the brewery operating 6am to 7pm Monday to Friday.

Vehicle access will be via two driveways, one for staff, delivery trucks and service vehicles and the other for visitors to the brewery and restaurant.

The visitor and staff carparks would be separate and there would be a bus set down lane.

Artist 's impressions of how the Beerfarm brewery and restaurant would be laid out. Picture: supplied

“The large barn door opening of the restaurant retains the rural feel of the land and large

openings bring the outside in capturing views and providing good ventilation,” the DA states.

The Beerfarm at Metricup, in Western Australia’s Margaret River region, includes a “paddock to plate” style restaurant to ensure the food is fresh and unprocessed as possible.

The property grazes cattle which are fed spent grain from the brewing process and the gardens remain pesticide free. The site is set up to allow people to wander and be educated about sustainable brewery and farm practices.

Margaret River brewery Beerfarm wants to replicate its “paddock to plate” model on the coast. Picture: Beerfarm (Facebook)

The company wants to replicate that model on the coast.

The DA states the proposed height of the building is 8.78m, which will not interfere with the minimum 40m of clearance for the flight path to Warnervale Airport to the south.

Given the size of the adjoining properties and given it is under the flight path to Warnervale Airport the DA states an acoustic report was not considered necessary.

Beerfarm will feed spent grain to cattle, which will then be used in the restaurant. Picture: Beerfarm (Facebook)

“The development footprint is a small percentage of the site area and the site can absorb the activity without creating excessive noise, odour, or visual exposure to adjoining properties,” the DA states.

“The proposed restaurant will provide an attractive venue for social gatherings by members of the community and visitors alike. The proximity to the M1 Motorway makes it attractive for day trippers to visit the Central Coast from Sydney and Newcastle. A visit to the brewery and restaurant may influence people to visit other places of interest generating more input to the local economy.”