Staff from Garden Centre Association (GCA) member centres in the Midlands received awards during a presentation evening on Wednesday August 25, 2021, at Stratford Garden Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
L-R: David Coote and Neil Domoney from St Peters Garden Centre with GCA inspector Gordon Emslie
St Peters Garden Centre was awarded Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category and Planters at Bretby picked up the accolade in the Garden Centre (GC) category.
The team from Planters at Bretby with GCA inspector Gordon Emslie
Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “We’d like to say a huge ‘congratulations’ to all of our winners at our second award meeting, they all thoroughly deserve the recognition and are a testament to us.
“We’d also like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our inspector, Gordon Emslie, for visiting each centre and providing extensive feedback on what he found. The feedback really is invaluable to our members and one of the main benefits of our membership. A big thank you must also go to Stratford Garden Centre for hosting the meeting and to Gwyn and Helen Lloyd and their team for looking after us so well.”
St Peters Garden Centre also won the Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by Savills and the GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer in the DGC category. Will Blake, Managing Director at St Peters Garden Centre, said: “We’re extremely proud of this result particularly considering the year we have all had. There was tough competition in our area as well, so it’s a testament to the hard work from the whole team and a thoroughly well-deserved result for them.”
GCA Inspector Gordon was responsible for inspecting member garden centres in the Midlands areas. He said: “Key to this year’s success at St Peters was the welcoming and homely feeling you receive from staff when you visit the centre. Their overall operational consistency across all key elements during the inspection process was extremely strong. Plus, a solid ethos on environmental awareness. For the Garden Centre category, Planters at Bretby had focused and delivered very high and consistent retail standards throughout the centre which made for a compelling visitor experience for customers. Their plant area in particular was extremely strong.”
The Scotland and Northern Ireland region met on Thursday August 26 at Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre, with inspector Colin Farquhar presiding over the event. On Tuesday, August 31 inspector Phil McCann will present his findings at the South Thames region meeting at Haskins Garden Centre, Snowhill in Sussex. The North Thames area awards meeting will follow on Wednesday, September 1 at Perrywood Garden Centre in Sudbury with inspector Andy Campbell. Alyson Haywood will be presenting her findings on Thursday, September 2 for the North East and North West region at Tong Garden Centre in Bradford.
The full results for the Midlands are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:
- Garden Centre of the Year: St Peters Garden Centre (DGC) and Planters at Bretby (GC)
- The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: East Bridgford Garden Centre
- The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Percy Thrower’s Gardening Centre
- Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Webbs of Wychbold
- Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by Savills: St Peters Garden Centre
- The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: St Peters Garden Centre (DGC) and Webbs, West Hagley (GC)
- Best Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Webbs of Wychbold (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre – Ashbourne (GC)
- Best Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: East Bridgford Garden Centre (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre – Ashbourne (GC)
Garden Centre Association