New owners proud to relaunch iconic Van Hage garden centre

A relaunch event was held at Great Amwell’s Van Hage garden centre in May following the business’s acquisition towards the end of 2022 by Blue Diamond.

The event on Saturday 20th May offered customers and the local community the chance to see the investment that the new owners, the largest turnover garden centre group in the UK, have already made at the site which include refurbishment works, increased stock levels and a fresh focus on the plant area.

Further improvements including redevelopment of the homewares section and the doubling of the capacity of the popular restaurant are planned this year. A new manager is also set to join. Guests at the relaunch were entertained with a programme of activities and entertainment including live music, fairground and pony rides and a barbecue demonstration from Broil King. A highlight of the afternoon was the unveiling of the refurbished windmill, a feature first erected at Van Hage’s original Spitalbrook site in Broxbourne in 1958 (an event covered at the time by Pathe News!) and later moved to Great Amwell in 1972 where it has been a recognised local landmark ever since.

It had fallen into disrepair though with the sails no longer turning. Blue Diamond managing director Alan Roper says that he decided at the time of the takeover that it should be restored and moved to a more prominent location on the lawn, both to create a sense of nostalgia for local customers but also as a gesture of respect to the Van Hage family.

They built up the business over 70 years into one of the leading garden and leisure retailers in the country with three separate centres at the time of the sale.

Alan recalled that he used to visit Van Hage himself in the early 1990s for inspiration.

He was joined by members of the Van Hage family as well as Ware’s new mayor Cllr Thomas Day for the unveiling.

For more information visit vanhage.co.uk.