Woburn Sands Garden Centre, near Milton Keynes, has announced that it is closing down, blaming “extremely challenging trading conditions” over the past few years. 

The former Wyevale garden centre informed customers of its decision on its Facebook page, posting: “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. 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.

Woburn Sands Garden Centre is currently holding a closing down sale, which started on Friday. 

The social media post announcing the closure drew a response of more than 750 comments, many of which expressed sadness at the decision.

The business was originally owned by Wyevale and sold to investment and development company Rochmills Group in 2019.