Future unclear for park's wedding venue

The future is uncertain for a landmark riverside wedding and events venue following its closure due to a downturn in customers.

Jephson Gardens Restaurant, based in the Leamington Spa park of the same name, was "not meeting the budgeted income", according to building owner Warwick District Council which discontinued the offering on the banks of the River Leam last year.

The venue, also known as the Riverside Glasshouse, was licensed for civil ceremonies and operated by Just Inspire for more than six years, until October 2025.

It now lies empty, and on council documents published ahead of a cabinet meeting on 22 July, a change of use for the venue is not indicated.

The authority told the BBC the cabinet report had been deferred until September, so no decisions on the venue's future would be made until after that date.

Steven Holland, the former managing director of Just Inspire, said there had been a steady decline in wedding bookings amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Corporate events had not picked up again post Covid, he explained, and the business was forced to shut despite it and the council doing "everything they could to make it work".

They did have to cancel a few bookings for the following year, he said, but were able to return all customers' deposits.

The council had been "absolutely brilliant and always supportive", he added.

Wedding parties on their way to the venue were a common sight in the park, and it also hosted corporate events and galas.

The venue has also previously been a restaurant open to the public, and hosted events under different operators.

Holland said he believed it would not host weddings again.

"I just don't think it works," he said, citing a lack of nearby parking as being among the challenges. "It's not in the right place."

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