Iconic garden centre announces UK closure after 64 years

The Woburn Sands Garden Centre, in Milton Keynes, has announced that it will permanently close its doors this year. The beloved garden centre is one of the longest-established garden stores in the area, with more than 60 years of trading. 

After a very challenging year, the garden centre has made the “difficult decision” to close down. Due to rising costs and financial losses, the company is “no longer viable”. A closing-down sale started on January 9, 2026, with 20% off everything. On their Facebook page, Woburn Sands Garden Centre said: “After several years of extremely challenging trading conditions, we have made the very difficult decision to close the business.

“Recent Government policies have made it almost impossible for businesses to survive. This has led to sustained financial losses, reduced customer spending, rising costs and extra tax pressures meaning the business is no longer viable. This is not a decision that has been taken lightly and it is one we make with real sadness.

“The garden centre has traded since 2019, and during that time we invested significant time and financial resources in an attempt to build a successful and sustainable operation.

“We explored every reasonable option to stabilise the business and sought further financial support where possible. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, continuing to trade is no longer possible.

“We are acutely aware of the impact this will have on our team and want to sincerely thank our staff, customers, and suppliers for their support over the years. This is not the outcome we wanted, but it is the difficult reality we now face.”

Woburn Sands Garden Centre first opened as a nursery founded by Harvey Frost in 1946, and then became a garden shop in 1962.

Shoppers took to social media to comment on the news, with one saying: “Very sad to read, we love coming to your garden centre for the children’s activities!”

Another one said: “This is one of my favourite places to go and so gutted to read this and really feel for you and the staff members.”

Express.co.uk has contacted Woburn Sands Garden Centre for comment