Cowells of Newcastle and Barton Grange Brock have retained their grip on the GCA’s Garden Centre of the Year Awards, announced last night by comedian host Justin Moorhouse

Cowells were nominated Garden Centre of the Year for the fourth time, with Garden Wise and The Old Railway Line centres runners-up.  Barton Grange won ther Destination Garden Centre of the Year title, also their fourth, against competition from Bents Garden & Home and Burston Rose & Garden Centre.

The other eight centres making up this year’s Top 10  Garden Centres of Excellence in the GCA’s annual inspections audit were: Ayletts, Bents, Burston, Garden Wise, Perrywood, Poplars, Simpsons and Squires Twickenham.

Martin Cowell dedicated his award to his later grandmother, who died earlier this month. “She brought up me and my two sisters while mum and dad were building up the business – this is for her,” he said.

It was unbelievable, Martin said, to have won the award four times in five years. “I feel so humble to have won this again,” he said.

Barton Grange managing director Guy Topping said: It is just amazing. To win this four times is something else, not something we would ever have dreamed of. Seeing the quality of retail this year, we didn’t think we were going to win this year.

“My team are getting nervous now, they see the rest of you closing in on us. You are all our inspiration, you drive us on, you give us confidence to do what we do at Brock.

Guy praised the quality of this year’s conference, the second organized by Will Armitage during his year of office as chairman. “The team have been so fired up by the speakers we have heard,” he said. “For Will to have put on a second conference of this quality of remarkable.”

The entire Barton Grange delegation took the stage for the presentation of the trophy – all except one have worked at the centre since the Brock site opened.