New Scottish Opening Rules For Garden Centres & Homeware Stores

The Scottish Government has today announced that homeware stores and garden centres will close in all level 4 areas from Boxing Day with the exception of click and collect.  The whole of mainland Scotland is reported to now be in level 4.

That means chains like Ikea, Dobbies, B&Q, will all need to close.

Reacting to news that Scottish garden centres will forced to close from Boxing Day, James Clark, of the Horticultural Trades Association, said, “The news that Scotland has decided to tighten the definition of what is included as ‘non-essential retail’ to include garden centres is hugely disappointing. 

“Although the new strain of the virus is concerning and clearly something that demands action, we firmly believe garden centres are essential for enabling better mental and physical wellbeing for people who are trying to manage the impact of restrictions on daily life.  

“There is little to no evidence that garden centres are a covid transmission risk.”

Garden centres in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will remain closed post Christmas.

The revised Scottish ruling means that after Christmas, garden centres in Scotland tier 4 areas, Wales and Northern Ireland will be closed. 

Welsh garden centres have been closed since the 17th although areas of Dobbies in Swansea remains open for food and petfood.

Source : Reproduced with permission from Geroge Bullivant at GardenForum

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