Longstanding Northumberland garden centre Heighley Gate is set to be revamped under new ownership, it has been confirmed.
The site near Morpeth has been acquired by national operator British Garden Centres, which has pledged to improve the store which has previously been a Dobbies site. The 18-acre site off the A697 will now close as work is carried out and there are plans to reopen in early March under the original Heighley Gate name.
British Garden Centres says the store’s existing staff have been kept on and there are plans to hire more roles. Those jobs will be advertised via the careers section on the firm’s website.
Charles Stubbs, founder and director of British Garden Centres said: “We are delighted to have acquired the centre from Dobbies and we have exciting plans to improve the store and enhance the customer experience, ensuring Heighley Gate Garden Centre continues to be a key part of the local community.”
Heighley Gate becomes the third site owned by British Garden Centres in the North East, alongside East Durham Garden Centre near Easington and the former Dobbies Gosforth site – which was confirmed in recent weeks. British Garden Centres has outlined plans to create 25 new jobs and create a carvery restaurant at the store near Gosforth Park, which is due to be reopened in mid-February.
Its closure came last year when Dobbies revealed a huge restructuring of its business in the wake of financial challenges. It originally announced the shuttering of 17 UK stores in the hope of returning to profit. The plans were thought to affect about 465 jobs as Dobbies cited historically uneconomical rent costs as a key cause.
The acquisition of the Heighley Gate site means British Garden Centres now boasts a network of 69 stores. The group is owned and led by the Stubbs family, which also owns and operates Woodthorpe Leisure Park in Lincolnshire. Having launched in the late 1980s with the opening of Woodthorpe Garden Centre, the business has grown – expanding rapidly from 2018 with 50 acquisitions, taking its workforce to about 2,700 people.
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