Online petition launched to get Welsh garden centres re-opened – sign it NOW! No 51 Most read story in 2021 - From GTN Xtra Issue 5 2021
A petition has been launched in an attempt to re-open garden centres in Wales as soon as possible.
The petition, created by Nicola Pugh (pictured above), senior operations manager at award-winning Pugh’s Garden Centres in South Wales, needs to attract 10,000 signatures for it to be considered in the Senedd Cymru, the Welsh parliament. So far 2,109 have signed the online petition.
Garden centre bosses in Wales have been left frustrated by having to close in lockdown while centres in England have remained open.
They feel there are lots of positive reasons why they should be allowed to re-open, citing the following:
Gardening keeps people at home
Gardening brings significant mental and physical benefits
Garden centres are large, airy spaces with excellent safety measures in place
The plant supply chain cannot be switched off and on. In many cases plants go to waste if they cannot reach garden centres
Online, click and collect and home deliveries are not the answer. They are particularly difficult for independent garden centres
Now, Nicola is urging as many people as possible to sign the petition so that the Senedd is forced to debate the matter.