Garden centre lays new roots

A family-run garden centre which sits at the gateway to the North York Moors National Park, is building a major extension, with support from Yorkshire Bank.

The Steam and Moorland Garden and Machinery Centre in Pickering, which was established by the husband and wife team of Charles and Bernadette Hopkinson, is building an extension which will be home to a new café, retail space and visitor toilets.

Yorkshire Bank has provided a £450,000 loan to help build the new extension, which is expected to be open in time for Easter.

The garden centre was opened in 2001 after the Hopkinson family diversified from their farming activities.

Mr Hopkinson said: “We are seeing increasing numbers of people coming through our doors and we felt now was the right time to invest to help deliver an even better experience.”