Covid: Frustration as garden centres in Wales stay closed

Garden centres in England will continue to operate during its national lockdown

Garden centre bosses in Wales have been left frustrated by having to close in lockdown while centres in England can remain open.

Centres were among non-essential firms told to close before Christmas amid concerns over the new Covid-19 variant.

Pugh's Garden Village in Cardiff said gardening helped people's mental and physical health, adding it had "first class" safety measures in place.

But the Welsh Government said the Covid-19 situation was "very serious".

Garden centres were among the first businesses to be allowed to reopen last May as restrictions began to be eased following the first national lockdown in March.

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As cases started to increase across the UK in the autumn, Wales went into a two-week "firebreak" lockdown at the end of October, which meant non-essential businesses including garden centres had to shut.

They were allowed to reopen after this period ended, but First Minister Mark Drakeford announced Wales was going into an alert level four lockdown before Christmas.

On Wednesday, England joined other nations of the UK in going into a national lockdown - but garden centres are allowed to remain open because the UK government considers them essential.

The owners of Pugh's Garden Village in Cardiff are "frustrated" at the different rules in England and Wales, says Nicola Pugh, senior operations manager

Nicola Pugh, senior operations manager at Pugh's, which has centres in Wenvoe and Radyr, said businesses were "frustrated" at the disparity between Wales and England.

"In last year's initial lockdown, based on science, garden centres in Wales were given permission to open their doors before other retailers, for the mental and physical health benefits of gardening," she said.

"Gardening keeps people at home, with in excess of three million new gardeners taking up the hobby since lockdown, whether it be in their outside space, window sills, balconies or living rooms with house plants."

Ms Pugh said their centres had offered "first class social distancing and a safe shopping environment with large outdoor expanses".

The centre had introduced a "first class social distancing" system, Ms Pugh says

Unlike during the first lockdown, Welsh Government guidelines state non-essential businesses can continue to offer click and collect services, which allow people to pay online and collect from a store.

But Ms Pugh said it was not "logistically or financially feasible" to set such a service up.

The Horticultural Trade Association, which represents garden centres, has previously called on the Welsh Government to keep them open.

James Clark, its director of policy, said: "There is no evidence whatsoever that garden centres are Covid transmission risks.

"The Welsh Government should take a more tailored, rather than blanket approach to what premises to close."

A Welsh Government spokesman said alert level four restrictions were in place to reduce the spread of the virus.

"We have all made huge sacrifices over the last year, but we all need to continue to work together and follow the rules to keep Wales safe," he said.

"The situation in Wales is very serious with a new high-infection strain of the virus circulating. The restrictions are kept under review but changes will only be made when it is safe to do so."