Keep garden centres open if there's another lockdown

HTA welcomes the chancellor’s Winter Economy Plan. The plans to extend CBILS repayment terms to 10 years to make the scheme affordable, will be particularly helpful to growers.

Director of Policy and Communications at the HTA also welcomed the commitment to keeping VAT in hospitality to 5% until March 2021. This will help support the £300m garden centre catering industry, which is down 45% at the same point last year. 

The flexibility on Bounce Back Loan repayments, tax deferrals and the Job Support Scheme will all contribute to the sector’s recovery. 

Keep Garden Centres open

James Clark said, “The message we are communicating to Government is that as we look towards Christmas - the second busiest time of year for garden centres – the most effective way to protect jobs throughout the horticultural supply chain is to keep garden centres open in the event of further lockdown restrictions. 

“As grower planting regimes are a year-round business, planning operations needs confidence of a future route to market.  This time of year is key for the sector as planning for the 2021 season takes place with retailers placing pre-orders with growers.”

Read details of the Winter Economy Plan: -

www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-outlines-winter-economy-plan