Braywick Heath Nurseries set to close unless partner can be found

Braywick Heath Nurseries is set to close at the end of this year, unless a partner can be found to save the long-running organisation.

Chairman Robin Pemberton said it was with ‘deep regret’ that directors have decided to wind up the not-for-profit social enterprise, which has provided training, employment and work experience for those with disabilities since opening in March 1997.

Mr Pemberton cited various factors for the decision, including having to ‘manage rising costs with shrinking revenue’.

While the door ‘is not yet closed’, it is closing, Mr Pemberton said, and shared hopes of finding a partner to allow the nursery to continue to serve the community.

Awareness of the plight of young people with support needs ‘who were left behind in our competitive world’ was the driving force behind creating the organisation which aimed to ‘increase ability, so reducing disability’.

The project took over the then District Council’s redundant nursery site on Braywick Park as a home.

The site was officially opened by King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales.

Also present was the town’s new MP, now Baroness Theresa May, and ‘she has been with us on our journey’, Mr Pemberton said.

He explained ‘countless numbers’ of people have worked and learned employment skills at Braywick Heath.

“Over the years we have been a hub for many charities and important local support groups, which will be lost,” Mr Pemberton added.

He said the business has ‘earned a reputation for quality plants and knowledgeable staff’, and its hanging baskets have ‘long been popular with so many regular customers’.

The Braywick Heath team has also set out to provide a ‘good garden maintenance service’ to aid those no longer able to manage their gardens and grounds.

This has expanded to work for parish councils, housing associations and the local authority, and many of its employees have gone on to start their own businesses.

Like many organisations, the company struggled through the COVID-19 lockdown, Mr Pemberton said.

“Losing so many key managers, and being long past retirement, I realised the future needed fresh blood,” he added.

He explained negotiations with a like-minded charity in Buckinghamshire ‘have not come to fruition’.

“We are all under pressure in the current and recent trading conditions. Some important customers have been ‘tightening their belts’ which then affects us.”

Climate changes are ‘very real and very consequential’ for horticulture and agriculture, he added.

“We have also seen increased competition from multi-nationals and price and cost challenges in these troubled times. We, like so many other businesses, have had to manage rising cost with shrinking revenue.”

Mr Pemberton said the company’s ‘loyal staff, volunteers and customers’ have been given notice of the closure.

He added: “The door is not yet closed but it is closing, while the need for training and employment for those left behind is getting greater.

“We would very much like to find a partner to continue to serve that need and we are busily working to do that.

“Our community needs this worthy enterprise, which will be sadly missed, unless we can find a way forward.

“We must thank our wonderful team, which is like a big family, and our customers and benefactors for their loyal support over the decades.”

He said the company is continuing to trade, has its autumn stock on the shelves and is looking forward to the Christmas season, with its trees and stock coming in next month.