Go-ahead for ‘remarkable’ restaurant, wine tasting and events venue

Ambitious plans by a Gloucestershire businessman to transform a mediaeval farm beside a former Cistercian abbey into a vineyard and sophisticated visitor attraction will go ahead.

Dear reader,

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Raikes Journal, our digital email magazine covering Gloucestershire, providing you with what we hope is a welcome break from the maelstrom delivered by social media channels and websites heavy with marketing content.

Think of what we do here at Raikes as creating a quiet place to park up, pause, and remember that reading things can still be something you can enjoy.

Our first edition of the week was led by a tale about a dramatic rise in the number of county businesspeople looking to sell their companies, why and how that points to a great opportunity for everyone, and it proved something of a hit. That story is here.

Which brings us to today’s lead. As Raikes is the only independent website in Gloucestershire approved by the BBC to use copy from its man on the ground here, Carmelo Garcia, we couldn’t resist the story below.

Neither could we resist doing what Raikes does - reaching out, speaking to the people at the heart of the story, aski…