Top regional award for popular garden centre

Gates Garden Centre, at Cold Overton, was recognised for its stunning Christmas displays in the Garden Centre Association (GCA) Christmas Competition 2023.

The business has now won the coveted regional GCA award for Best Destination Garden Centre for the third year running and was again voted in the top three in the UK.

Established in 1948 by Fred and Ivy Gates, the garden centre was originally created within the walls of a large Victorian kitchen garden belonging to Cold Overton Hall.

Still on the same site today, the centre has expanded considerably over the years and houses over 12,500 square metres of leisure and retail facilities, including garden centre, rural department store, farm shop and restaurants.

Managing director, Nigel Gates, said: “We are thrilled to win this award for the third year running.

"It is particularly pleasing to receive this recognition in our 75th anniversary year.

“We have always been proud of our Christmas displays and it’s wonderful to be recognised officially by the Garden Centre Association as the best destination garden centre in the midlands region and third in the entire UK.

“Thank you to our team for all their hard work and passion that goes into our Christmas displays.”

The GCA award comes hot on the heels of Gates’s recent win in the Pride Good Food Awards 2023, when they won Best Food Retailer; and earlier this year, local MP, Alicia Kearns made the business overall winner in the Melton and Rutland Best Independent Shop annual competition.