Stansted Park Garden Centre under new ownership

The garden centre at Stansted Park has been acquired by new owners.

Stansted Park sits on the Hampshire/Sussex border between Chichester and Portsmouth overlooking the coast.

The garden centre is a central part of the visitor experience and the business has now been acquired by Paul Richards and Tim Mason. Between them Paul and Tim have over 60 years’ experience in the garden centre industry. Paul owned the Golden Acres garden centre group until selling the business to Wyevale in 2015. Since then he has gone on to develop Mappleborough Green Garden Centre using garden centre business consultancy Sea Pop Ltd. owned by Tim, to help manage the project.

Employment of the existing 32 staff is secure and exciting new plans are in place to redevelop the centre to create a premium garden centre to match the outstanding setting of Stansted Park. In 1983 the 10th Earl of Bessborough gifted the house and grounds to the nation and it is now run by a charitable trust, The Stansted Park Foundation.

Stansted Park Garden Centre will be run under the Your Local Garden Centre brand, as a sister centre to Mappleborough Green Garden Centre which has become one of the leading garden centres in the Midlands.

Both the Foundation and its new garden centre tenant are investing in the garden centre and wider estate to ensure Stansted Park continues to grow as a major tourist and horticultural destination.