The Guinness Arms Hotel
To transform this thatched 16th Century Inn to create a new pub interior, along with eight new individually designed bedrooms within the adjoining barns.
DV8 Designs were re-appointed by Sefton Council on a vision to bring life and purpose into the disused site by the canal next to the Strand in Bootle, Merseyside.
The focus of the brief was to provide designs for a contemporary community destination for outdoor events and concerts. The premise of the venue was to be a multi-operator food and beverage container park offering a climbing wall, to complement the event space and make it a place local people and visitors to the region would have on their must visit lists.
The development aimed to bring a lively daytime, evening, and nighttime economy to the area through new leisure, food, and drink opportunities with detailed plans in place that include bars, food outlets and canal-side access.
The overall design was approached to incorporate feature signage, lighting and rooftop gardens aimed to add further charm to the overall aesthetic. The feature Industrial lighting paid homage to Bootle’s industrial past, in keeping with the new branding and name “Salt and Tar” which refers to the town’s rich industrial heritage, with the Brotherton’s Tar Distillery on Hawthorne Road, and the area’s historic link to the salt trade.
The 3000-capacity event space maximises on expansive waterside views, utilising canal-side access to provide additional opportunity for leisure experiences. An event calendar is in place including a music festival with high profile headline acts, a Food and Drink Festival, outdoor cinema screenings, community events and live music, markets, and beer festivals as well as a Christmas event programme.
This was a hugely exciting opportunity for the area, and DV8 Designs are proud to have been appointed again as trusted concept designers for Sefton Council. Our experience and expertise in this area has proven to be a strong conduit to driving revenue into the local economy.