A new micropub opening in Sutton Coldfield is a real family affair with the owners saying they want it to have a community feel and employ local people.

The McDiarmid family will open their fourth Ale Hub in Mere Green, at the former premises of Garner Canning Solicitors on Hill Village Road.

The new mini boozer will offer traditional ales for drinkers, together with a selection of gins, other drinks and bar snacks and provide a relaxed environment for customers.

It will be open from midday to 11pm seven days a week.

The family will spend around £50,000 converting the offices into a new real ale mini boozer, with a capacity of around 12 tables. There will be background music, but no electronic machines, with the emphasis on conversation and socialising with few distractions.

It is anticipated that work will start sometime in October and the conversion should be complete towards the end of the year and almost certainly by Christmas.

It should be good timing as the long-awaited transformation of Mere Green and Mulberry Walk in particular, and will add more variation to the already vibrant food and drink scene.

It will be their fourth pub to open during the pandemic, a tribute to their business acumen and determination in difficult circumstances.

The family, who are based in the Solihull area, also run a web-based logistics company.

They said they have a love of real ale and became disillusioned over the quality of real ales being offered at larger chains, where the main emphasis is on food, rather than the quality of the drinks.

Parents Neil and Sue McDiarmid, together with sons Campbell, Connor and daughter Brodie decided to have a go themselves and opened micropubs in Dickens Heath and Shirley with another due to open in Worcester. The say they pride themselves on the Ale Hub being a family-run business.

Their aim is to help to revitalise the local pub scene and provide the community with a choice of refreshing and well-kept drinks in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Campbell explained how the family became involved: “My mum and dad are real ale lovers and they struggled to find somewhere to go to cater for their needs. They saw that ales were generally poorly kept and saw a gap in the market for a local community feel pubs that offer cask ale, craft beers but doesn’t concentrate on the food side.

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“We chose Mere Green when we were told it would be suitable for the clientele we were aiming for. We looked for about three months and then this venue came up and we went for it.”

“We will employ a local manager with around four part-time staff, who will also be local.”

Campbell added that the quality of the ales was paramount. “We have strict procedures in place,” he said. “There are protocols in every one of our bars to ensure quality.”

The tiny new pub, sandwiched between a general store and a barbers shop, will offer another option for tipplers in the area, offering a range of traditional real ales together with various gins and other drinks.

The plan approved by Birmingham City Council shows the ground floor will have a bar area, cellar and around a dozen tables, with toilet facilities on the first floor.

In a statement to Birmingham City Council planning department, The Ale Hub said: “We are looking to operate a micropub out of the premises which will have a focus on being a pleasant friendly space for the local community.”