DOZENS of brides and grooms-to-be may be left thousands of pounds out of pocket and without a wedding venue after the company behind an historic castle collapsed.

More than 50 couples had booked to hold their wedding ceremonies and receptions at Caverswall Castle over the next 21 months.

But they are now looking for alternative venues after accountants and business advisers were called in to begin proceedings to put Caverswall Castle Limited into liquidation.

The castle's owner and director,has been at the centre of a long-running planning row with council officials after he was refused retrospective permission to use the 13th Century building as a commercial wedding venue. Among those worst affected by the news are Carla Holland and Alex Dellicompagni, who were due to both marry and hold their reception at the castle next Friday. The couple have paid £7,500 to hire the venue for their civil ceremony and spent a further £3,500 on catering for the big day.

Carla, aged 24, who works in recruitment, said: "We went to the castle as recently as Sunday to finalise the wedding plans with the staff and they said everything was fine. "I went back on Monday and there was a van taking away all of the kitchen and bar equipment, so I knew then something was wrong. "We had 45 guests attending in the day and 100 at night, with 30 due to stay over at the castle, so we're running around trying to sort out another venue. "Right now we've no idea if we will get any of our money back, we're just doing everything we can to make sure the wedding still goes ahead."

The castle was bought for £2 million in April 2007. In January this year the owner was told by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council he faced prosecution if he continued to hold weddings at the venue. It came after a planning inspector upheld the authority's earlier decision not to grant change-of-use permission for the venue.


A spokesman said: "The planning process with the council has become protracted to the point where the company is unable to trade, as the current planning appeal for change of use has been declined. "The director has therefore, following advice, taken steps to place Caverswall Castle Limited into liquidation. "All creditors have been notified of the Creditors' Meeting, which is to be held at the offices of Moore Stephens on March 31. "The company had bookings for weddings throughout 2011 and into 2012. Unfortunately these will now not be able to proceed at Caverswall Castle. "It is understood that some customers may have paid deposits and Moore Stephens will be contacting these customers directly."

The spokesman added: "The director of Caverswall Castle Limited deeply regrets the situation the company has been forced into and is saddened by the prospect of letting customers down who had booked their weddings with the company." He added that customers who have used a credit card may be able to obtain a refund from their provider.

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