A WEDDING centre planning application has been submitted to be situated at Lower Grenofen, just on the edge of the river before the small bridge.

Its website, 'Ever After', gives full details of what will be available, although planning permission has yet to be given.

There is already opposition to this, from horse riders and walkers, particularly on the grounds of the poor access. The addition of marquees, lighting and music beyond midnight, are surely not suitable for this area of outstanding natural beauty, and which is only feet away from the Dartmoor National Park.

The decision is apparently on hold, subject to a final report on the impact it might have on bat colonies in the area. I hope people who enjoy walking here will also be given due consideration.

The prospect of the increased traffic which will be generated by service vehicles as well as proposed  minibuses ferrying any number of guests seems wholly unacceptable. The chaos resulting from cars trying to pass or reverse up such a narrow steep lane will make it a place to be avoided, which would be a great loss to all who currently enjoy visiting it.

Rosalind Pierson 

Dog walker  

With many other local residents, I attended the planning meeting to hear discussion on the application to use Lower Grenofen Farm (now apparently renamed 'Ever After') as a wedding venue.

Many of us who use this area frequently to picnic, walk (with or without dogs) or ride horses will know it as a beautiful, tranquil and unspoilt spot with natural parking for about 20 vehicles, a number of lovely riverside walks and access to the Drake Trail cycle way.

The approach is down a steep and narrow lane, with several bends and almost no passing places.

The implications of using the dwelling at the bottom of this lane as a wedding venue are very much greater than those who have recently developed it — very considerably and  presumably with this intention — may suppose. Many of the immediate objections — impact on wildlife and other environmental aspects — appear to have been dealt with and dismissed, although not to everyone's satisfaction.

The building development alone must have a lasting effect on smaller wildlife and its loss of habitat.

There will also, inevitably, be a considerable impact on the tranquillity of this area. The presence of up to 100 guests and staff in this area at any given time — midweek weddings are becoming popular now — cannot help but involve noise. When they start to play music and dance, whether during the day or late into the evening, the whole area around Grenofen Bridge and through the woods is going to lose its peaceful character, and there will be no way of knowing, until you go down the lane, that this is going to happen.

The applicants appear to have been made aware that the bridleway which shares the narrow driveway  must not be obstructed — a gate is acceptable only if it can be easily opened by a rider without dismounting — and that a sign must be erected warning guests that horses may be using the path.  (Walkers also have a right of way on bridleways, as do cyclists, although it does not have to be made easy for them and they are obliged to give way to horses and walkers).

The application includes parking facilities for 20 cars. There appears to be no reason why excess vehicles should not use the public parking space across the bridge. Is it going to be congested to the point that local users cannot park there — and will not know until they have negotiated the lane that this is the case?

I am very pleased to see that our local MP, Geoffrey Cox, has registered a strong objection to this plan. I am sure that many others will object equally strongly. The area of the Walkham Valley from Bedford Bridge through to and beyond Double Waters is unique; we have very few wooded areas where we are able to walk or ride in peace beside the river, on a variety of paths. This commercial enterprise would cut right into the heart of something that  is of inestimable value.

The planning committee have agreed that a site meeting is needed before they proceed further with their deliberations.

There are plenty of other lovely places to get married. Please leave Grenofen Bridge and the Walkham Valley alone.

Donna Baker

Tavistock