Dalverton Garden Centre to extend plant area

Dalverton Garden Centre on the Isle of Wight has been trading for 22 years. 

Its owner asked garden centre business development and town planning specialists Malcolm Scott Consultants to put together proposals for an extension to meet customer expectations and fend off competition from other retailers; particularly internet garden retailers which capitalised on the pandemic.

Chris Primett, of MSC explained, “At present, the centre’s plant sales area amounts to approximately 20,000 sq ft, stocking around 400 varieties of plants. 

"The centre’s owner, Tim Honnor, was keen on expanding and capitalising on this plants strength, of which a proportion of the space previously used was lost to car park and service area improvements.

“We submitted plans to provide a replacement open display space of 5,123 sq ft, bringing the total planteria to around 27,400m², which is a very credible department size and gives Dulverton’s customers a retail plant proposition that is extensive.”

Tim Honnor said, “We currently employ 52 staff at Dalverton... Over the past five years there has been a huge surge in consumer spending on garden products and we believe that this extension will increase our product capacity, thereby increasing customer choice and helping to enhance our immersive customer experience; ultimately supporting turnover growth.”