Cutting the ribbon for a new era in Otter shopping!

There’s a fresh look and feel at our Ottery St Mary Garden Centre, with a new, light-filled building recently opened.

It replaces a structure that has been in place for around 48 years, most recently housing the aquatics centre and bulb displays. Although it had served us well, it needed replacing as the area was lacking in natural light and the roof was starting to let in the rain.

The revamp also provided an opportunity for us to make improvements to the experience for customers, offering a more logical route around the store with a newly located entrance and exit. Overall, the area is now much brighter, more spacious and welcoming.

The ribbon was cut by founder Malcolm White, his granddaughter Lara and former employee Bob Joy. Bob joined the business in 1972 and was involved in the building of the original structure, which had been purchased second hand, as was fairly common practice in that era.

Bob says he remembers mixing cement for the foundations. “In those days there were just eight of us working alongside Malcolm and Marilyn, so it was all hands on deck.”