Tetley's brewery in Leeds is to close with the loss of 170 jobs.

The announcement was made early today by the brewery's Danish owners Carlsberg.

It brings to an end 186 years of brewing at the Hunslet site. The closure will take place in 2011.

The brewery site in Hunslet in south Leeds is likely to be snapped up by developers, though Carlsberg said no decisions had been made about its future. The site covers 5.5 acres, and with development land in Leeds fetching around £12m an acre the site has a potential value of more than £65m.

Carlsberg UK marketing director Darran Britton said the brewing of Tetley beers would remain in Britain, and if possible in Yorkshire if a partnership deal with another brewery could be negotiated.

Mr Britton said: "We have not decided anything in relation to the site at the moment. Our primary focus has been consultation with the employees. I am sure there will be a lot of speculation about the site but nothing has been decided."
He said he was aware of the brewery's place in the industrial history of Leeds.

"I absolutely appreciate the heritage but we have ultimately got to make sure our business is strong and sustainable in the future," he said.

"Leeds is the smallest and least efficient of our two sites and the reality is that people are drinking less."

The other site is in Northampton.

He said the company had made the announcement two and a half years before the closure will take place in an attempt to be "open and transparent" and to give the brewery's 170 employees time to plan their futures.

Some redeployment of work may take place - Carlsberg has a distribution plant at Tingley, outside Leeds.