WORK has started on the £490,000 revamp of a former city centre furniture shop to a craft beer pub.

The Beerhouse will be in the ground floor of a five-storey Grade II listed building in North Parade which Table Décor operated from.

The project has been given a £160,000 boost from the Bradford Council Growth Zone towards the £490,000 refurbishment and refit.

The Beerhouse, due to open in March,will be one of the bigger venues in the rapidly-growing Independent Quarter, and create 30 permanent jobs including managers, chefs and kitchen staff, bar supervisors and bar staff, waiting staff and cleaners.

Co-owner of The Beerhouse Jas Bhatt said: "We’re delighted that all the pieces are now in place so we can forge ahead with this exciting project.

"One really important element of the City Centre Growth Zone initiative is job creation and it means a lot to us that we are in a position to contribute to this aim. We’ll be starting to recruit staff while the building work goes on and we’re very excited about building up a great team ready for the opening."

David Robertson-Brown, the director of Gumption Centres Limited, who works for Bradford Council in the City Centre Growth Zone said: "The redevelopment of this listed building is ensuring that another key site in the city centre is brought up to the highest of standards and remains in full commercial use.

"The Beerhouse will make a major contribution to the local economy and help attract many more people to North Parade, benefiting other businesses in the area."

Contractors, Kerf Interiors, based in Crigglestone, specialises in high-end food and drink venues. The company is now completing the major Bradford Brewery refurbishment in nearby Westgate.

Kerf director Peter Ramsden said: "We are very pleased to have been appointed to work on another development in this vibrant part of Bradford, where the whole area is being regenerated. The Beerhouse is an exciting use for a fabulous old Victorian building, which will bring new life to it."

Licensed trade consultant Mark Hamilton-Smith, who is advising on the scheme, said: "We were particularly impressed with the work that Kerf’s have been doing at Bradford Brewery, as well as the speed and detail that they've demonstrated in putting their submission together."

The new pub will focus on offering a wide selection of craft beers along with Yorkshire Cask Ales and home-cooked pub food made from locally-sourced produce.

The plans also include an outdoor seating area as part of the European-style ‘café’ culture which is starting to take shape across the city centre.

Table Décor will continue to run from the upper levels of the building.