THE new owners of a garden centre near Wellington have pledged to pump millions of pounds into refurbishing it next summer.

Blackdown Garden Centre, off the A38 at Piccadilly on the West Buckland Road, has been sold to the Blue Diamond Group.

The 19-acre, family-run business becomes the 39th garden centre acquired by the group.

Blue Diamond Group managing director Alan Roper said: "This was one I could not resist.

"This site has the potential to become a sizeable destination garden centre and plugs a catchment gap between Sanders to the north and our Devon centres to the south.

"The centre will receive a multi million-pound refurbishment in the summer.”

Blackdown Garden Centre has been a family run business for many years and is set in the heart of the Blackdown Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Blue Diamond owns garden centres across South West and South East England, as well as the Midland and the North East.

It also has an outlet in Cardiff and a presence in Guernsey and Jersey.

More locally, as well as Sanders, in Brent Knoll, it operates Cadbury Garden Centre, in Congresbury.

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