YORKSHIRE Garden Centres, as a group, is now spread across seven sites including Otley.
Previously family-owned businesses have offered their sites and businesses to the group when sales were falling and it was hard to maintain a thriving nursery and garden centre without huge investment
To keep the businesses thriving it is necessary to have extra attractions, not just plants. Many nurseries can’t survive on plants alone especially such a large site like Stephen Smiths in Otley
Plants are only a part of the wider offer. A restaurant for a casual coffee with a friend or lunch mid-shopping, is an ideal meeting place. With a shoe shop, clothing store, gifts and food hall, it is easy to make a day of it. In Otley we are lucky to have space for plenty of parking too, a real boon for those less able to walk around the town. Reaching out to the local community is core to developing the business in all of their locations, they hope to become a hub for families with the children’s play areas called Grasshoppers and later with Mission Out, an adventure play for ages 8-16 year olds
Of course, the Wharfedale Gardeners were keen to discuss the plant sales area and all agreed the quality of the plants on offer is excellent. Also, by having pots and troughs, trellis and tools, compost and paving we don’t have to travel far and wide to gather together all that we might need to refresh our gardens
A huge emphasis is made in making it an excellent work environment for staff. Regular incentives, reward schemes and health support create a happy workplace where staff are encouraged to ‘be themselves’. Neil wants to become a valued employer, attracting people into local jobs in each area. Youngsters can join the apprenticeship scheme, taking a day each week to attend college, be paired with a more experienced team leader or develop a plan to enhance their chosen path into horticulture, sales or management
One very special message used to incentivise the staff is “Don’t just faff. Get on with it” a fitting Yorkshire sentiment!
Knowing more about the business we shall all take a keen interest in watching our local garden centre ‘grow’ year on year
Yorkshire Garden Centres’ chosen charity this year is Martin House where Neil kindly donated his fee for the evening.
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