Garden centre sale

7:06am Saturday 1st December 2007

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Barton Grange garden centre is having a clear out before it moves to a new £12m site, off the A6 at Brock, near Preston.

The garden centre, currently based in Barton, is selling off four huge green houses.

It is due to move in February next year and work is currently taking place at the new site which will include an 80 berth marina, a 40 bedroom hotel, garden centre, a chandlery shop, and a 450-seater restaurant.

Nine holiday flats are also being built on the site, and the former Green Man public house will be converted into office space.

Barton Grange managing director, Guy Topping, said: "The existing garden centre will close when the new one opens.

"This marks the end of an era for the Barton Grange Group and following the move in February, some of the old garden centre buildings will be removed and auctioned off and replaced with a new garden."

The glass houses will go up for auction with Preston-based chartered surveyors, Smith Hodgkinson Pickervance, next year.

Adam Pickervance said: "The items will be auctioned on the premises in preparation for the company moving to their new site.

"It is all left over stock that will not be needed in the new buildings."

The 52-acre leisure development, around the size of 25 football pitches, will create around 280 jobs, with a further 50 jobs created at the Barton hotel, which is being given a £3m extension.

Hotel plans include a new conference and banqueting building, 50 bedrooms, a new health and fitness area and a swimming pool.

Mr Topping added: "There was much excitement on site two weeks ago when we joined our marina to the actual canal.

"The barrier to the marina itself remains closed as we still have work to do on the jetties and the electrics.

"We hope to begin filling the marina itself in late December.

"Elsewhere on site, everything continues to progress nicely."

The company dates back to 1945, when Edward and Ada Topping bought a manor house with plans to turn it into a hotel.

The Barton Grange Hotel was opened in 1951 and the garden centre in 1963.