The Horticultural Trades Association Chief Executive Fran Barnes delivered a keynote speech at the HTA Annual Conference calling for urgent government action to support environmental horticulture, protect Britain’s 22 million gardens, and remove barriers to growth.

Addressing a packed auditorium of HTA members, industry leaders, and parliamentarians, Fran said:

“We’re meeting today at the Barbican. A place rebuilt from the devastation of the Blitz, now alive with greenery. It shows what vision, perseverance and passion can achieve. It shows what horticulture can do, to bring life where it matters most. And that’s exactly what you do every single day.”

Highlighting the sector’s frontline role in tackling climate change, Fran continued:

“The weather we’ve all been dealing with this year, extreme heat and drought, demonstrates clearly that our industry is on the front line of dealing with the effects of climate change… but crucially, we have the solutions too. Cities may overheat — but our trees are cooling them. Floods may come — but our green spaces can act as a sponge. Droughts may bite — but our members can be supported to build reservoirs. Nature may falter — but our gardens are bringing it back.”

Fran also used the platform to launch the HTA’s new Value of Gardens report, the first to put a figure on the economic and environmental benefits of domestic gardens:

“Britain’s 22 million gardens are a critical part of a green infrastructure. Combined, they make up an area one-fifth the size of Wales. Our modelling shows that the difference to the economy from including 200 square metre-sized gardens in new homes, compared with no gardens at all, would be an extra £64 billion in consumer spending in the next 100 years.”

She called for minimum garden density requirements for new housing developments and urged the government to create a Government Office for Green Spaces:

“I was told a few months ago that here in London, it is easier to get planning permission for six new car parking spaces than planning permission to plant six new trees. Have we got our priorities right? We need to prioritise and invest in green infrastructure. Recent green landscaping projects just a couple of miles away in the City of London show us what’s possible. This is why we need a Government Office for Green Spaces to be created, to co-ordinate and champion green infrastructure across all government departments.”

Turning to economic pressures, Fran challenged the government to address last year’s Autumn Budget measures:

“(This) is a prime example of how to undermine an entire sector. National Insurance rises, an increase in the National Living Wage and inheritance tax changes, all combined at once, have a disproportionate effect on environmental horticulture. We know the changes to employment costs alone have already taken hundreds of thousands of pounds, and in some cases millions of pounds, directly out of your businesses.

“Inheritance tax changes in our family businesses will target the older generation while saddling the next with unplanned for, and potentially unaffordable, debt. We know that you are cutting costs. Perversely, that may mean a smaller workforce, with ultimately a smaller tax take for HMRC. It doesn’t make sense. That budget is hitting working people — you and your teams — hard.”

She confirmed that the HTA has submitted a formal pre-Budget request to the Treasury, calling for no further tax rises on employers, action on business rates, and a pause for consultation on changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief. Additionally, it requests a future employment bill to support business growth, rather than hinder it.

“Government’s role is to give certainty. Government’s role is to deliver confidence. Last Autumn, Government did neither. I’ve explained this to the Treasury. We’ve had MPs and ministers out to your businesses — retailers, growers, manufacturers and landscapers — and you’ve told them directly the impact this is having.  I hope the Chancellor’s budget in just two months’ time addresses the blockers they have put in the way of your growth.”

However, Fran did also acknowledge and thank the government for including plant health in a future SPS (UK-EU Trade) agreement, something which the HTA has long lobbied for:

“One of our members told me the commitment we secured from the government to include our sector in an SPS agreement has saved his business. So, a thank you to the government. We just need it to happen quickly, and we need to start feeling easements at the border today.”

The address was also an opportunity to pay tribute to outgoing HTA Chairman James Barnes:

“James, your leadership and support has been invaluable. Your work at the HTA through Covid was a lifeline for the industry, and your ambitions to grow the HTA and the representation of this sector are being realised now.”

Fran closed with a message of optimism:

“I’ve had the privilege of meeting hundreds of members across the UK this year. We are not just another sector; we are quite literally growing the future of our country. Together we are stronger. Together, we’re growing.”

See GTN Xtra's photos from the conference below and read more in the next issue of GTN magazine