A garden centre is shutting after 50 years of business, blaming new Government policies. Woburn Sands Garden Centre in Milton Keynes has announced its closure after “several years of extremely challenging trading”.
The garden centre posted “an important update regarding the future of our garden centre” on Facebook, saying the business was “no longer viable”. It said: “After several years of extremely challenging trading conditions, we have made the very difficult decision to close the business.” They added: “Recent Government policies have made it almost impossible for businesses to survive. “
“This has led to sustained financial losses, reduced customer spending, rising costs and extra tax pressures, meaning the business is no longer viable.”
It is understood that the comments are a reference to increases in the minimum wage, National Insurance, and business rates introduced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget back in November.
The social media statement went on: “This is not a decision that has been taken lightly, and it is one we make with real sadness.
“The garden centre has traded since 2019, and during that time, we invested significant time and financial resources in an attempt to build a successful and sustainable operation.
“We explored every reasonable option to stabilise the business and sought further financial support where possible. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, continuing to trade is no longer possible.
“We are acutely aware of the impact this will have on our team and want to sincerely thank our staff, customers, and suppliers for their support over the years. This is not the outcome we wanted, but it is the difficult reality we now face.”
Customers commented on the post, expressing their disappointment with the closure. One said: “This is so sad to read. This place puts so much care and consideration into everything…an absolute delight.”
The closing down sale commences on Friday, January 9, with 20% off everything.
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