TWO members of a garden centre group have been accepted as members of the Garden Centre Association (GCA), joining an elite group of 200 garden centres nationwide.

Tingley and Otley Garden Centres were awarded membership of the GCA, which champions professionalism in garden centre retailing, after passing a stringent audit that covered all elements of both businesses.

"To be awarded membership of the GCA is a real credit to the teams at Tingley and Otley who have worked tirelessly to reach the GCA's exacting standards. We're very proud to join a group that shares our commitment to achieving excellence in customer service, plant quality and reliability," said Mark Farnsworth, MD of parent company Yorkshire Garden Centres.

During the audit inspectors scored customer service highly at Otley Garden Centre, with an observation that interaction at the tills was ‘superb'. In conclusion, the inspectors declared that Otley, managed by Andy Bradley, ‘has the makings of a super centre'.

Established in 1966, the GCA believes in sharing information and experiences at all levels, from senior management to the shop floor. Every year, its 200 members throughout the UK and Northern Ireland must undergo a comprehensive annual inspection to ensure they continue to meet the stringent criteria set out by the association and therefore maintain membership.

The Yorkshire Garden Centres (YGC) group comprises Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley Garden Centres and the recently acquired Dean's York and Scarborough. Otley and Bingley Garden Centres were known as Stephen H Smith's before they were acquired by YGC in 2022.