A Harrogate district horticultural business has estimated that Brexit-related bureaucracy cost it £210,000 last year.

Johnsons of Whixley, which sells over 5 million plants per year, said in a press release yesterday that the “bureaucratic burden” of Brexit had reduced revenue, increased cost and slowed its supply chain.

Britain left the EU at the end of January last year.

Johnsons said the company brought in 462 loads from the EU in 2021, which cost the company £210,000 more than it did in 2020 due to Brexit.

Of those costs, £150,000 was spent on EU plant health.

Jonathan Whittemore, head of production and procurement, said:

“This is money Johnsons is spending in the EU, with EU companies and authorities, on inspections and phytosanitary certificates.

“The EU phytosanitary certificate is a perfect example of the costly bureaucracy that doesn’t achieve its aim.”

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Whittemore explained that although the certificate was required to bring plants into the country from the EU, it is not given any authority by the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). This leads to situations where plants are repeatedly delayed for duplicated checks and tests. He added:

“A robust stance is critical in disease control matters, and UK horticulture should be pleased that this is the approach APHA is taking. But if we are not going to put any credence on the inspections and testing done in the EU then let’s not ask for it to be done, and let’s not pay for it.”

Johnsons, which was established in 1921, has supplied plants for various high profile projects, including Studley Royal Water Garden, the Forth Road Bridge, the National Arboretum Centre and the athletes’ village at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Two Harrogate district companies have paid tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore at a newly unveiled memorial.

Horticultural services provider Ray Skelton (Harrogate) and Johnsons of Whixley, a nursery, both sponsored the walkway, which was opened at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate this month.

Captain Sir Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, her husband and children, visited the college on Pennypot Lane to cut a ribbon and unveil a plaque that includes details of his life.

Ray Skelton (Harrogate) commissioned Kris Elvidge, a local stone mason, to engrave the stones that can be found at the front and back of the college headquarters.

Meanwhile, Johnsons donated two Magnolia ‘Double Diamond’ 200-250 110L trees and 50 Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ worth a total of £765 to the memorial.

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Stuart Skelton, director of Ray Skelton (Harrogate), said: 

“It has been an honour and a privilege to be involved in the Capt Sir Tom Moore Memorial. Hopefully, this will continue to inspire future generations of junior soldiers”

Eleanor Richardson, Johnsons of Whixley’s marketing manager, said: 

“We were delighted to be part of this fitting tribute to Capt Sir Tom Moore, who was a true inspiration. 

“The donation is particularly fitting as the magnolia is native to Asia, where he served during World War Two.”

Captain Sir Tom was made an honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate last year.

He later visited the college to speak to junior soldiers and was invited back for their graduation in September.

He raised almost £33m for NHS Charities Together by walking lengths of his garden in Bedfordshire, hitting the headlines in the process. He died aged 100 in February this year.

Family-run horticultural nursery Johnsons of Whixley is celebrating 100 years of business this month.

The company is one of the UK’s largest plant suppliers, and has sold an estimated total of 220 million plants since it was founded.

Eric Johnson, company founder

It was founded in 1921 by war veteran Eric Johnson; he began with a small piece of land yielding two dozen fruit trees and grew the company to sell fruit, vegetables and flowers.

When the Second World War started, most of his small team of staff joined the war effort. He was given a commission with the Home Guard in a platoon of 60, covering Wetherby to Green Hammerton.

By the end of the war he was running the well-established ER Johnson Nurseries Whixley, as it was formerly known, and was able to buy seven acres of land to expand the company.

Mr Johnson and the Home Guard.

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In 1964 the company was bought by John Richardson, who maintained it as a family-owned business. At this time the company was producing about 150,000 plants annually.

John is now 83 and is still chair of the business, with 11 members of the Richardson family also having various roles.

John said;

“This has not been just my own doing but is thanks to the support of motivated and trusted colleagues who have run the different elements with such professionalism.

“It is with great pride that I have seen my sons continue to develop the business year-on-year, and now I watch my grandchildren take up the reins to the even further successful growth of the company.”

Today the company owns over 200 acres of land and sells five to six million plants every year.

The business has supplied plants for ambitious projects such as HS1 and the athletes’ village at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre has been awarded the first of 12 donations made by a commercial nursery in the Harrogate district.

Johnsons of Whixley has donated £150 worth of winter interest plants to the charity’s sensory garden in Knaresborough.

Henshaws provides vocational training, including art and horticulture workshops, for people with a wide range of both learning and physical disabilities.

The nursery hopes its donation will bring a splash of colour to anyone using the centre during the pandemic.

Johnsons is giving away 12 donations to Yorkshire charities this year as part of its centenary celebrations. Henshaws is the first recipient.

The plants donated include hamamelis, skimmia, sarcococca and helleborus.

Gemma Young, fundraising manager at Henshaws, said:

“We were so pleased to hear Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre were the first winners and can’t wait to see the blooms in their new home.

“Lorna and her team at Johnsons of Whixley were instrumental in the creation of the beautiful sensory garden at the centre a couple of years ago, and their continued support means such a lot to the community here.”

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Eleanor Richardson, marketing manager of Johnsons, said:

“2020 was a challenging year for many charities, including Henshaws, who rely heavily on donations to survive.

“It’s great to support Henshaws once again, we hope our plants spread cheer amongst staff, students and visitors for many years to come.”

At the start of the pandemic, Johnsons donated hundreds of plants to local villages and spent £5,000 in Whixley, the village where it is based, to restore a stained glass window in the church.

A large horticulture business in the Harrogate district has said a Brexit ban on exporting soil has put the business “back 20 years” — and could cost it £500,000 a year.

Jonathan Whittemore, head of production and procurement at Johnsons of Whixley, told the Stray Ferret the family firm had been severely impacted by a European Union rule that bans the import of soil from non-EU countries.

The rule prevents pests and diseases from entering the EU.

The company exports to Northern Ireland, which is still in the EU’s plant health system because of Irish Sea border arrangements.

It means all plants and trees grown in UK soil cannot cross the sea, including popular species of tree such as birch, oak or beech.

Mr Whittemore said Brexit has had a big impact on the business, which employs 110 staff and celebrates its centenary this year:

“It’s a fallacy to think Brexit would lead to a decrease in red tape and bureaucracy. Anyone who suggests otherwise is naive. This has thrown our business back 20 years. It’s not progress, it’s regress”.

The company, which is based in Whixley, a village 11 miles from Harrogate, will attempt to sell some of the products earmarked for Northern Ireland to other parts of the UK. But Mr Whittemore fears much will go to waste.

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He said the business had been preparing for the impact of Brexit for two years to smooth the transition.

It predicts it may incur additional spending of £1.5 million on bureaucracy and red tape if it continues to operate as it does now.

Mr Whittemore said the company “has been left to flounder” by the government after falling foul of Northern Ireland import rules.

Staff have raised the issue with Nigel Adams, the Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty whose constituency includes Whixley, as well as Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones.

Mr Whittemore added:

“Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving. Everyday we are finding new things that make things more expensive for our business.”

“We’ve gone from having guaranteed sales to having this kick in the teeth, but we’ll try and find a way through.”