Wedding firm owner 'gutted' after planning refused

A woman said she was "absolutely gutted" after shutting down her outdoor wedding business because it was refused planning permission.

Katy Bird, 37, who ran Hardwick Moat Weddings in Cambridgeshire, said cancelling future weddings was her "worst nightmare" but she and her husband had no choice but to dissolve their company after the decision.

Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) said the events, near Tilbrook, could impact the archaeological remains of a medieval moat at the site and "dilute the rural character of the area".

Ms Bird and her husband, Joe, held their own wedding there in 2021, which was also the year they opened their business.

Retrospective planning permission was refused in May last year and again in April this year due to the concerns around archaeology, visual impact and "the absence of a flood risk assessment" and failure to demonstrate the "levels of the solar and LED lights would not cause obtrusive light impacts".

Ms Bird said she spent around £15,000 trying to address the council's concerns and that the "whole process has been draining, both mentally and financially".

She said she was initially unaware planning permission was needed for the wedding's events as they took place on private farmland, with marquees being erected in late April each year and taken down in early September.

Three couples have had their weddings at the site cancelled next year, while three will be held this year on temporary events licences.

"We've destroyed a lot of couples' dreams," Ms Bird said.

She added that the decision also impacted local vendors as the business contributed around £100,000 a year to musicians, photographers and bar staff, while the farm owner "was happy to work with us to diversify his land", which was "encouraged" by the government.

Cambridgeshire County Council's archaeology officer said the remains of the moat were "potentially comparable to nationally significant scheduled monuments" and that heavy equipment on the land as well as "changes to drainage and planting" could have a below ground impact.

"The main marquee goes up on what was a ploughed field," Ms Bird said. "If you think about heavy machinery on a medieval site – that field has been ploughed for hundreds of years for crops.

"We just fenced off an area that used to be cropped and hand seeded it. We grew a grass paddock and the main marquee goes on the paddock."

Ms Bird said the planning process had drained the company's finances and that it would not be putting forward an appeal of the decision.

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