The Old Railway Line Garden Centre, located between Brecon and Hay-on-Wye, has won the ‘Garden Centre of the Year’ award in the Midlands, Wales & West at the regional annual Garden Centre Association (GCA) Awards.
This independent garden centre is the first to win this award, marking the inaugural event for this new region. In addition to the prestigious top prize in the ‘Garden Centre’ category, the family-run business also collected several other awards, including ‘Best Food Hall’, ‘Best Customer Service’, and ‘The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer’. They secured second place in the ‘Indoor Lifestyle’, ‘Catering’, and ‘Environment and Sustainability’ categories, and third place in ‘Commercial Innovation’. They were also shortlisted for the ‘Ruxley Rose (Best Plantaria in the UK)’ award, moving on to a second round of judging.
Katie Eckley, Director of Operations, said, “We are thrilled to have been recognized as ‘Garden Centre of the Year’ in the Midlands, Wales & West. Having won ‘Best Garden Centre’ in the Wales & West region for nine years running, followed by two years of ‘Best Destination Garden Centre’, we are honoured to be recognised again, especially in a much larger region. These awards are a testament to our amazing, committed, and hard-working team who fully embrace our values and ethos, including offering the best customer service possible.”
Joe Aldworth, Marketing & Ecommerce Director, added, “We are over the moon to have been recognised for the top award yet again. Our priority is always people—our customers and our amazing team. We love to create an enjoyable experience for visitors with something different around every corner. We could not have achieved this without the support and dedication of our team, and we thank them profusely for their unwavering commitment.”
Garden Centre Inspector Colin Farquhar commented, “People make the difference in garden centres. This is both the workforce and the customers. It was pleasing on my visits to see both groups interacting and creating an environment in which people genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves. While some shopping can be seen as a chore, garden centre shopping should be viewed as entertainment and one in which all participants want to be there. I was so heartened on my visits to see this in action.”
The GCA represents over 200 garden centres nationwide. Through information sharing and its inspection programme, the GCA helps members achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality, and reliability. The awards are decided by the results of the annual inspections at all GCA garden centres. Garden centres receive no advance warning of their inspection dates and do not have the option to turn away the inspector.
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