THE sudden closure of a dale wedding venue has left scores of brides and grooms in the lurch.
Many of the couples who had booked their weddings at Jersey Farm Hotel, in Barnard Castle, were informed by letter on Sunday, February 23, that the venue had been sold and the business would close in just three days.
Malcolm Catterson, who was due to marry his fiancee of eight years Angela Herring next month, described receiving the letter by courier as feeling like “the world had ended” .
He added: “I am cheesed off to put it lightly. We have guests coming from Scotland and all over. Luckily, we have sort of managed, we think, to find a new venue. The knock on from that is that we have to go back to the registrars – Angela in Richmond, and me in Darlington – to resubmit our intention to marry because the venue has changed.”
The letter from Jersey Farm Hotel stated: “The purchaser of the hotel is not acquiring the business. It is therefore not possible to honour the booking you have made for your wedding on Saturday, April 25, 2020, as the hotel will be closed down.”
The letter stated that the couple’s £1,000 deposit would be returned to them.
One wedding organiser, who did not want to be named but had several events planned at Jersey Farm Hotel this year, said: “It isn’t good. The brides should have been told before the hotel was sold.”
He added that the problem was compounded because of the huge number of people
who want to get married in 2020 because of the significance of the “double figures” .
He said: “It’s gone mental. Lots of people want to be married in 2020. People are having to book their weddings mid-week.”
This had an impact for many suppliers, such as entertainment providers and fireworks companies who had turned away other potential bookings because they were committed to events at Jersey Farm Hotel, he added.
However, many other venues in Teesdale are doing what they can to help couples who have found themselves without a venue for their wedding.
The head receptionist for The Morritt Hotel at Greta Bridge, Tessa Reynolds, said: “We have quite a few we have been able to help. We have a bride and groom in today – it is about trying to save their special day.”
Debrah Dhugga, chief operating officer for The Apartment Group, which has bought the hotel, said it was for the previous owner to comment on the cancelled events.
Jersey Farm Hotel’s former owner Mark Watson declined to speak to the Teesdale Mercury.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
