Wedding venue plans for medieval site are rejected

A seasonal wedding venue at a medieval site has been denied retrospective planning permission for a marquee, glamping and car parking.

Hardwick Moat Weddings asked Huntingdonshire District Council for permission to use land near Tilbrook, Cambridgeshire, as a wedding events venue.

The company started holding ceremonies at the rural site, which also includes earthworks of a medieval moat, in 2021.

The council said it still had concerns about the impact of the work to create the venue on the "high archaeological potential" site.

Planning permission has been refused twice over concerns about the effect on the countryside and the site.

In its latest application, the company said the impact was "minimal" as the marquee was put up in April and taken down in September, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It said bell tents in the glamping area were put up on a Friday for a wedding weekend and taken down on a Sunday.

The average wedding had 80 guests during the day and an additional 20 in the evening.

The application added that the potential impact on archaeological remains could be "ruled out" as it said no significant ground invasive works had been undertaken.

The plans said: "The proposal represents farm diversification for the landowner, providing an additional income stream to the farm and offers substantial economic benefits to the local economy."

But council officers said they still had concerns.

They said a previously withdrawn application showed photographs of the site with heavy machinery and works including "reshaping of the moat and stripping of the central pad".

It added that while the supporting statement for the plans claimed no significant ground invasive works had been undertaken, de-turfing to lay paths and using heavy equipment on a sensitive archaeological could have an impact.

It said: "The proposed development would dilute the rural character of the area through the introduction of incongruous and intrusive hard edges in the countryside and weaken the visual gap between the village of Tilbrook and the rural countryside."

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