Up to 40 new jobs are to be created with fresh plans for Heighley Gate garden centre, including the introduction of a carvery restaurant.
Earlier this week, British Garden Centres confirmed it had acquired the 18-acre site near Morpeth, and will close the store while it carries out works before reopening in early March. The national operator has subsequently revealed plans which include the refurbishment of the restaurant and the addition of a carvery, which will lead to about 20 new jobs.
Bosses are also in negotiations with current concessions at the site with the hopes that new brands can also be added. Around 40 existing staff at the store have been kept on by British Garden Centres which also plans to recruit between 15-20 seasonal and permanent roles with vacancies to be posted on the careers section of the company’s website.
Plans are also in place to keep the soft play and mini golf facilities at the store, which will revert back to its Heighley Gate name, having operated under the Dobbies brand in recent years.
The site is British Garden Centre’s second acquisition in the North East this year having also taken over the former Dobbies store at Gosforth Park, where it has announced similar job-creating plans including a carvery. Work is under way at that site, which is due to reopen in mid-February.
Heighley Gate and Gosforth join British Garden Centre’s national chain of stores, which also includes East Durham Garden Centre near Easington. The North East acquisitions were among a flurry for the Lincolnshire firm following a major restructuring of its rival Dobbies last year. It included the closure of 17 stores, impacting about 465 of the firm’s 3,600-strong workforce.
Dobbies had faced financial challenges and cited uneconomical rent costs as the driver for closures. It hoped the action – which included 11 larger and six smaller Dobbies stores – would return the business to sustainability.
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