Business opportunity blooms between Sanderson Arcade in Morpeth and Northumberland charity
A Northumberland charity has been awarded a contract to supply the floral arrangements to a shopping centre in Morpeth.
Blyth Star Enterprises, which operates a horticultural day service at Stakeford Nurseries for adults with complex mental health needs and learning disabilities, was approached by Sanderson Arcade following a recommendation from a member of its security staff.
The Arcade is renowned for its summer and winter floral displays, having won accolades on multiple occasions at both regional and national level.
This is the first year that the contract for the centre’s landscaping has been outsourced to an external company and it was important to the management team that the chosen contractor had a presence nearby and had the community at its heart.
Lottie Thompson, centre manager at Sanderson Arcade, said: “Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the hanging baskets and planters that shoppers see around Sanderson Arcade had been tended by a dedicated gardening team, but in recent years the job had fallen to other members of staff who admittedly didn’t have the same level of expertise, so we started to consider outsourcing the work.
“Gordon Hakin, one of our security guards, recommended that we check out Stakeford Nurseries to see if they could help us. Gordon explained that it was run by a charity, which is something that we really liked the sound of, so we paid the site a visit and were really impressed with the set up. It just seemed like a perfect fit.
“The work that the team at Stakeford Nurseries has carried out has been fantastic. The flowers are absolutely beautiful and we have been getting lots of compliments from shoppers.
“The staff and service users have been so helpful and have provided us with lots of maintenance tips to help us keep our displays looking their best throughout the summer. We can’t thank them enough.”
In total, staff and service users from Stakeford Nurseries planted up 23 large hanging baskets, six wall planters and a number of freestanding planters.
Graham Carr, horticultural services manager at Stakeford Nurseries, said: “We were delighted to be approached by the team at Sanderson Arcade.
“Working together with businesses like them is a great way for us to supplement our day services and build on service users’ horticultural knowledge and understanding.”