'No doubt' wedding venue will find new operator

A councillor said she had "no doubt" a wedding venue will be taken over after its current operator used an early break clause to vacate the facility and leave bookings cancelled.

Kirkleatham Walled Garden in Redcar reopened in 2021 following a £10m revamp by Redcar and Cleveland Council, the Tees Valley Combined Authority and other bodies.

Contractor Elior, which has been operating the site since, announced it would hand back the licence to Redcar and Cleveland Council from 1 September, with all events after this date axed.

Labour's Carrie Richardson said the venue had already received "local and national interest" from potential new operators, although no new partner has been announced.

"Hopefully the now operator will be in place as this one leaves," said the council's deputy Richardson in a Facebook post, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority said it understood Elior would be offering refunds to customers who had their booking cancelled.

A spokesman for the company previously said the firm had contacted customers with bookings after 31 August.

The garden at Kirkleatham is Grade II-listed and is part of an estate built in the 17th century.

It is made up of formal gardens, a science garden, a glasshouse, cafe, shop and 350-seat pavilion.

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