Ministers urged to re-think keeping Scottish garden centres shut
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing says he wants the outlets to open again - but only when “it is safe to do so”.
There are calls for the Scottish Government to think again on keeping garden centres closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
SNP MSP Christine Grahame made the plea as garden centres in England re-opened their doors to the public on Wednesday.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing told her he wants the outlets to open again - but only when “it is safe to do so”.
Scottish Government official Gerry Saddler said “building blocks” required to allow garden centres to reopen are being put in place.
He told MSPs on Holyrood's Rural Economy Committee: “All the preparation work is currently ongoing and we are pretty much ready to go as soon as it is safe to open the garden centres.”
Ms Grahame argued gardening can benefit people's physical and mental health during lockdown, and added: “I hope the Government thinks again about this because we're not just talking about the garden centres, we're talking about the plant suppliers and the health and wellbeing for many, many people for whom that is their only outlet while they are in lockdown.”
She made the plea after Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton said it is “completely illogical” for garden centres to have to stay shut while DIY stores and large supermarkets are open.
She said garden centres have “faced the perfect storm of seasonality and perishability” - adding their closure is having a “significant” impact on the nurseries and growers that supply them.
Ms Hamilton said: “Garden centres are opening in England today and we are seeing companies like Dobbies and Klondyke, who have headquarters here in Scotland, cannot open in Scotland but they are opening in England.”
Mr Ewing said garden centres can sell their goods using online deliveries, but added: “I fully accept gardening is a great source of pleasure for many people, particularly during lockdown.
“The supply chain is extremely important, so let me be absolutely clear, I want garden centres to be open as soon as it is safe to do so.
“But the overriding question is the extent to which we require continuing precautionary measures in order to address the main objective of saving lives and preventing an overwhelming demand on our NHS acute medical services.”
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