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, asking a few questions, making another contact, and letting you know about that.

It’s this bit that we like to think helps set us apart. The journalism bit. For us, it’s all about helping make connections, bringing people’s eyes to a single place so they can see what the county really looks like.

For those who have battled to push schemes through planning or are embroiled in that process now, have been battered and bruised by it - and for those who simply love great stories about people with big dreams - we hope the story lifts your spirits and gives you hope.

We often paywall our Thursday editions and almost always do that with our Friday full members’ editions, to help pay for what we do. Today, we’ve kept the paywall off.

Please do share the story or refer a friend - the benefits of doing so are below - and help us grow our scubribers.

Remember, for every person you refer to The Raikes Journal’s email service you get points towards a free membership allowing you to see beyond our paywalls. Please do sign up (free or otherwise), send the referral link to a friend or colleague, and help us grow.

Andrew Merrell (editor).

If you have a story, an issue, a news item, a charity or an interview you want us to write about or investigate, challenge the powers that be about, then please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.

NB: We believe Raikes now publishes probably the best-read business-related email ‘newsletter’, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire.

---

* The Raikes Journal is a community interest company. Everything you read by us is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne, our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.

If you subscribe and invite friends to The Raike Journal you will earn rewards towards complimentary membership (three referrals will get you one month, 10 will get you three months, and 25 will win you six months).

If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We are dedicated to delivering quality journalism for Gloucestershire, to championing the county, in particular its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to helping create an even stronger community. If you upgrade to paid you will be able to see past the paywalls often put on our second and third email editions of the week, that lock all our archive after two weeks and lock our rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You will be able to comment on our stories too. You’ll be helping make this CIC sustainable to deliver more original articles on our county.

You can sign up to receive your two extra editions a week and see past all our paywalls for just £2.30 a week - or £1.80 a week if two or more people sign up at once. Or go all in and become one of our Founding Partners or Founding Members!

---

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.

By Carmello Garcia and Andrew Merrell.

“Remarkable” plans to restore and enhance historic farm buildings next to a former Cistercian monastery and create a new restaurant, winery, wine tasting and events venue in the Forest of Dean have been approved.

Peter Cooke will now go ahead with the transformation of the crumbling buildings of Home Farm, next to Flaxley Abbey near Westbury-on-Severn.

Cooke bought the mediaeval farm in 2020 and founded Kingsthorne vineyard, which is already producing award-winning wines.

The plans, which include alterations to historic buildings, a new car park and a 140-cover restaurant and cidery, were debated at a meeting of Forest of Dean District Council’s planning committee in Coleford on Tuesday (11 March 2025). 

Historic England had raised concerns about the proposed car park and its potential impact on the landscape setting of the abbey, but officers recommended approval, arguing the scheme’s benefits outweighed any potential negative impact. 

Cooke, who spoke to The Raikes Journal post meeting, said: “It has been a long process. Four years. But we have answered every single query. I am very pleased.

“The planning officer herself, Hannah Ramsey, said some really nice things. The committee called the project ‘remarkable’, which I imagine is unusual.”