A north-east horticulture boss says the date picked for Scottish garden centres to reopen is “perfect”.
The premises, along with hairdressers and click-and-collect non-essential retail, will be able to welcome customers once more from April 5.
It had been feared restrictions on trading would last much longer but growers across the country are now feeling a “huge sense of relief” with fewer than three weeks left to wait.
Elliot Mair, managing director of Raemoir Garden Centre in Banchory, was left “pleasantly surprised” by the announcement.
He said: “We’ve been phoning our employees on furlough to tell them – it’s been great to give them such good news.
“It has been really challenging for everyone but now there’s a huge sense of relief.
“The public are ready to return to garden centres, and we’ve got all the procedures and a safe environment in place for our customers to enjoy.”
Earlier this month big names from the world of horticulture signed a joint letter calling for the urgent reopening of garden centres.
They warned any delay could seriously hamper businesses, as almost three-quarters of bedding plants are sold between March and May.
Mr Mair said: “The timing for this is perfect.
“We’re missing the Easter period, but we feel there’s still plenty of opportunities for people to to garden – and support their local businesses, like ours, that have suffered.”
Businesses ‘disproportionately harmed’
Mr Mair said the news had “countered” disappointment he faced this week amid a disagreement with Aberdeenshire Council.
While its garden centre has been closed in recent months, the business’s food hall and pet area have been welcoming customers.
But bosses were phoned on Friday and advised to close to the public.
Under Covid laws, businesses are categorised by their main purpose rather than what they are selling.
This excludes garden centres from operating non-click-and-collect services, such as food halls.
While Mr Mair and his team agreed to close, they pointed out inconsistencies as garden centres in other parts of the country have been running similar operations without issue.
He said: “They’ve taking an extremely hard line with us, and we think the council is disproportionately harming local businesses with this.
“Ultimately, as a business, we want to follow the regulations – but we feel we have to stand up as we are being treated unfairly.”
Stance ‘backed by government’
But Aberdeenshire Council said its stance had been backed with “clarification” from the Scottish Government, and it was treating all garden centres equally.
A spokeswoman said any concerns about businesses in other areas would be passed to the relevant local authority to investigate.
Andrew Bowie, Scottish Conservative MP for Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine, said: “This is a small, independent business which is only trying to open safely, on a level playing field with far larger competitors.
“Using such a broad brush to close them down is grossly unfair and disproportionate.”
