Squire’s Garden Centres and Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards joined forces recently to revamp the garden at Burbank Children’s Home in Woking.

The garden makeover took place to celebrate Squire’s becoming they Trading Standards department’s 100th primary authority partner. Squire’s donated plants and Councillor Ayesha Azad joined the teams and the children to help with the planting.

“It is important that children understand where food comes from and they have had much pleasure in planting from seed, caring and nurturing the vegetables and herbs and then finally being able to harvest, ‘fork to fork’, and enjoy the simple pleasures of a homegrown tomato or carrot," said Sharon Newton, Burbank’s manager.

Sarah Squire, chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, said:  “As a family owned business we believe our garden centres should be at the absolute heart of the community. We are delighted to be recognised as Buckinghamshire and Surrey’s 100th Primary Authority Partner. Giving the children at Burbank the opportunity to experience our enthusiasm for gardening seemed like a great way to mark the milestone.”

Under the ‘primary authority’ scheme, a business can apply the tailored advice of one trading standards service to any area around the country they work in. The scheme helps businesses operate with confidence while also protecting consumers from poor practices.

Denise Turner-Stewart, Surrey County Council's cabinet member for community safety, fire and resilience, said: “It’s great news that 100 companies big and small – from household names to start-ups - are now benefiting from the expertise of our award-winning trading standards service. Our officers support firms to navigate all the rules and regulations relating to their business, helping them to make decisions with confidence and provide high standards of customer service, and I’d encourage others to get in touch to find out more. The project to revamp the garden at Burbank is a wonderful example of how businesses and trading standards can work together to make a real difference in our communities.”

Pictured: Sharon Newton (Burwood manager), Ed Ridgeon, Councillor Ayesha Azad and Michele Manson.