A new garden centre creating 40 jobs is set to open at the old Cascades site between Harrogate and Ripon.

The site, just outside of Bishop Monkton on Harrogate Road, has been bought by British Garden Centres, and will become its 58th centre.

British Garden Centres has begun work on the site and plans to re-open it early next month as Harrogate Garden Centre.

The new owner has said it plans to use the whole site but will add covering to some areas to allow for all-weather shopping.

A BGC spokesman told the Stray Ferret the company had visited Harrogate regularly for trade shows and decided to pursue the opportunity to buy the site.

Founder Charles Stubbs said:

“I’m delighted we can bring the unique BGC offer to the Harrogate area and look forward to meeting our new customers.

“I’m excited by the prospect of re-opening the garden centre and we are going to pull out all the stops and open in April with our full gardening range.”

“The first thing we need to do is recruit a team, we’ll be welcoming 40 people to the family in the next few weeks.”

Mr Stubbs also said a further 15 staff would be recruited once the restaurant opens in the summer.

The restaurant will be in the same location as previous years but will have a new look.

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The centre, which has previously been known as Grass Roots and Cascades Garden Centre, has been closed for over a year. It is seven miles from Harrogate.

BGC is a family-led business that was founded 30 years ago by brothers Charles and Robert Stubbs in Lincolnshire.

Garden centres in the Harrogate district and RHS Harlow Carr will remain open during the second national coronavirus lockdown.

The lockdown will start on Thursday and last until at least December 2, with non essential shops and restaurants forced to close.

However, RHS Harlow Carr, which has its own garden centre, says it has reviewed government guidance and that it can stay open.

The RHS has said it is monitoring the situation closely and is awaiting the publication of the new lockdown regulations

To effectively manage social distancing measure the RHS has asked all visitors to pre-book a time slot in advance.

The National Trust meanwhile has tweeted that it is still awaiting for national guidance as to whether Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal can stay open.

Please note that there will be very limited access to the abbey on 3&4 Nov. The water garden, cafe, shop, play area & deer park are still open and can be accessed from the visitor centre.
Beyond Wednesday, we're awaiting national guidance on opening. Please bear with us for now. pic.twitter.com/hogCOkqMVi

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) November 2, 2020

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Garden centres across the district will also remain open.

Crimple Hall Garden Centre, on Leeds Road in Harrogate, told the Stray Ferret it will remain open. While the cafe will be closed it will serve takeaway hot drinks, sandwiches and cakes.

F. Tate and Sons, a garden centre in Ripon, also told the Stray Ferret that it will stay open. It will need to close its new cafe but is looking into providing takeaway food and drink as well.

Daleside Nurseries Ltd, in Killinghall, has also confirmed that it will remain open and said it is continuing to work in coronavirus safe ways. It will run a takeaway service.

Some garden centres across the borough will be opening their doors to the public from tomorrow, after being closed for seven weeks due to the coronavirus lockdown.

It comes after the government announced on Sunday, that garden centres in England will reopen on Wednesday 13 May as long as they ensure social-distancing measures are in place.

RHS will be opening all four of its plant centres including the one at Harlow Carr.

Sue Biggs, RHS Director General, has said :

“We are pleased to reopen our RHS Plant Centres to bring joy, food and beauty into the lives of thousands of gardeners, and it is hugely encouraging that the Government recognises the vital role gardening and gardens play in supporting positive mental and physical health… We are ever mindful of the world we now live in and will, therefore, be operating with strict safety measures at all our sites to ensure we protect our visitors and staff who we thank for being patient with us at this time.”

Crimple Hall Garden Centre in Harrogate has been offering contactless deliveries to customers during the lockdown, but now as restrictions are lifted they are preparing to open.

Sally Dugdale who is the plant manager at Crimple Hall, told the Stray Ferret that lockdown came at a bad time for garden centres:

“The height of the season is between March and June, so it’s not been good at all for garden centres. We are now hoping that the season is extended with people spending more time in the garden and not going abroad.”

But not all garden centres in the borough are opening tomorrow, with some saying they don’t feel it would be safe for customers or staff.

Heoplants Nursery in South Stainley is remaining closed despite the go-ahead from the government. Deborah Withington, who owns the nursery told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been operating a contactless service since we closed… It has worked really well so we have decided to continue that way for now as we feel that casual visitors and passing trade would pose social distancing issues.”