Millbrook ranked top 10 garden centre in the UK

Published on 8 February 2024

If you were in-store last week you may have heard our team celebrating after winning two prestigious awards at the 2024 Garden Centre Association Conference (GCA) in Gloucestershire.

Firstly our Gravesend store has been recognised as one of the top 10 garden centres in the country – winning a Garden Centre of Excellence Award, and ranking 8th overall out of 200 garden centres nationwide.

We were also really delighted to be presented with The Paul Cooling Environment & Sustainability Award – given to the garden centre with the most eco-friendly practices. We are the first garden centre to win this new trophy awarded for our Planet Positive approach to green sourcing, recycling, water use and environmentally conscious products.
Asked what it means for Millbrook to be recognised in this way, our Managing Director Tammy Woodhouse said: “Winning the Paul Cooling Environment and Sustainability award is a really personal accolade for me. Paul Cooling was a very dear friend, a huge support to me and gave so much to our industry. His death last year at such a young age was a huge shock to us all and this award is a great way to celebrate his life and his legacy. I’m really proud that we are the first winners of this trophy, and it makes me even more determined to continue the great work we have started on our road to becoming more sustainable.”

The Paul Cooling cup itself is sustainably designed, made by the Coolings team using wood from Paul’s shed and finished with two coins from the year of his birth.

For the past few years Millbrook have been partnering with Planet Mark, an internationally-recognised sustainability certification, to help us measure and reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the environment. Measured by Planet Mark we are aiming for a 20% year on year reduction in CO2. Through our partnership with Planet Mark we're protecting an area of endangered rainforest thanks to Cool Earth; a charity working alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation. Our pledge through Cool Earth goes directly towards supporting the Asháninka community in Central Peru. Read more about our work with Planet Mark on our website.

The GCA awards are presented to the centres that the GCA deem to demonstrate immense dedication, hard work and enthusiasm in what they do on a day-to-day basis. Over the course of a year, the GCA undertake an intensive audit, with no prior notice, recording scores from over 200 garden centres across the UK, so standards have to be maintained throughout the year to win one of these prestigious awards.

Thank you to our amazing team at Millbrook, and to all our customers, for supporting us to win these amazing awards!