Wedding venue application in Bradfield Dale

Thornseat Lodge is the crumbling but still imposing Victorian Gothic shooting Lodge on the edge of Bradfield Moors. Long neglected and in serious disrepair an application has been submitted to restore and convert it to five holiday lets. Although this would seem the last chance to save anything of historic value and in principle its repair is welcome, much architectural detail is missing. We would need to see this detail to ensure the work is sympathetic and sensitive before we could support it.

However, the restoration is accompanied by a proposed wedding/event venue, catering for up to 150 guests with 80 car parking spaces, on the footprint of the Lodge’s former stables and its courtyard. We have objected to this as such a venue, which could be extremely noisy, potentially with outdoor PA systems, loud music and fireworks, is inappropriate on the edge of the Bradfield Moors. The moors are an area of immense tranquillity, and an extremely important habitat for wild birds and other species. In addition, the traffic generated would have to use the network of quiet lanes in Bradfield Dale so popular with walkers and cyclists. These lanes are steep and narrow with blind bends, and pass through villages such as High and Low Bradfield. At a time when active travel is so important these lanes should be protected from intimidating traffic both for their valuable role in improving people’s quality of life and to enhance their character and tranquillity.

You can download our full letter here.