I AM saddened to hear that the new wedding venue, Ever After, at Grenofen has been denied its wedding licence again.

What a wonderful opportunity for so many local businesses and trades, wasted! Especially during this period of slow economic growth, when businesses rely on new and existing trades to grow and prosper.

It's ridiculous enough that the people of Tavistock cannot decide on what shop should take over the old Focus site, still empty and serving no purpose whatsoever! Why is offering the area of Tavistock another fantastic wedding venue any different than another place to buy some baked beans?

Wedding venues create a huge amount of financial benefits for a large variety of businesses, including caterers, B&Bs, florists, cake makers, musicians, tailors etc. All of which can be found in Tavistock. Think of the trade it would create!

I'd like to ask the group of opponents who has actually visited the venue and discussed their concerns with the owners? I can hazard a guess. Noise concerns are not an issue as well as the County Highways clearly stating that no objections were raised regarding the workable travel plan.

As for 57 horses being stabled two miles away. . . . two miles away? The music would have to be on Glastonbury levels to reach that far away. And I'm sure Dartmoor's 368 square miles of moorland would accommodate horse riding would it not?

I wish the people of Tavistock would concentrate more on the positives rather than the negatives. This is precisely why places like the old Focus site have laid empty for so long.

I don't believe the venue will have a huge environmental impact at all. Many wedding venues are now on working farms. They, for sure, would not have been granted a licence if there was any suggestion of environmental impact.

I do hope that the opponents of the wedding venue appreciate what a lovely place Ever After is and all the hard work that has gone into it and haven't simply used an 'argument from incredulity'.

I wish Ever After an optimistic future.

David Gray

via email