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Paul Williamson is from Deloitte »As a Yorkshireman and a fan of real aleas, I should be crying into my pint tonight over the decision announced by Carlsberg today to shut down the historic Tetley brewery in Leeds.
In fact, I've never been a huge fan of Tetley's.
But that doesn't make the decision to close down a brewery with a history dating back to 1822 acceptable.
Carlsberg justifies its move with claims that sales of the ale are falling, while critics accuse the company of failing to market Tetley's properly at a time when real ale is generally making a comeback.
It is certainly true that Tetley's no longer enjoys the kind of profile in northern pubs that it once did, even in its Yorkshire heartland. Increasingly, it has been replaced on the bar by offerings from the many smaller breweries which seem to have flourised over recent years.
It may well be that they benefit from the decision to close the Tetley's brewery. But, despite this, the move can only be bad news for Britain's brewing industry in the long term.
The Leeds brewery is a landmark in the city, occupying a prime historic site by the River Aire. The odours of the brewery hand over a large part of the city, contributing to its character and serving as a reminder of its heritage.
It is a tragedy that this will now be lost - the latest piece of northern tradition to be ripped out of a city as a result of a proud local company being taken over by a foreign rival.
Even in these times when a city centre apartment in Leeds is certainly not worth what it was two years ago, I suspect that the real estate appeal of the brewery site has proved too much of a temptation for Carlsberg bosses.
And the sad reality is that we can do nothing to protect this important piece of our national heritage from being dismantled before our eyes.
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