A Nottinghamshire wedding venue has revealed plans for changes which would make it the first of its kind in the country. Sherwood Glade, which is located in Mansfield Road in Arnold, is aiming to become a carbon negative venue - something which they say has never been done in the UK.
The business has submitted plans to Gedling Borough Council for changes which would allow it to operate for slightly longer, as well as carry out a number of changes on-site to make themselves 'carbon negative' and "unlike anything else in Nottinghamshire".
They aim to achieve this through a reforestation area which will be delivered throughout the nearby area, only working with suppliers with 'green' credentials, minimising their use of materials, investing in wind turbine generators and solar panels and even through eco-friendly toilets for the guests to use.
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James Aspell, 36, who lives in Sherwood, has run the venue for the past two years. He told Nottinghamshire Live: "What we are aiming for is to be the first carbon negative wedding venue in the country. Everything we do in terms of running it would be done in the most green way possible.
"We are very fortunate because we are based in a beautiful woodland and we want to show other businesses and venues that it can be done. In 2020, it didn't go immediately to plan because weddings fell victim to coronavirus restrictions.
"We were allowed to run them last year and we had a lot of weddings which was fantastic - I think we did 10 last summer. We have 12 weddings booked in for this year as well.
"A lot of work goes into it behind the scenes, as well as a lot of investment. We've had a look at other green initiatives in Nottingham and taken inspiration from them - we wanted to make this change in our business and thought we could have a similar effect on others."
Being carbon negative goes one step further than being carbon neutral, meaning the venue would actually reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, rather than adding to it or keeping it the same.
According to Climate Care, the average wedding emits around 14.5 tons of CO2, markedly more than the 12 tons emitted by the average person during a whole year. Sherwood Glade aims to plant a forest of trees nearby, as well as implement a number of low emission practices, which would achieve carbon negativity.
The plans have already received the backing of Sherwood MP Mark Spencer who, in a letter to the local authority called Sherwood Glade a "forward thinking business" and says he wants to help them move forward with the project going forward. The application will now be considered by Gedling Borough Council's planning committee.
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