No longer strictly relevant to Yalding; but perhaps more indicative of Garden Organics own problems (which led it to leave Yalding in the first place) – they have now confirmed that the shop, restaurant and conference centre at Ryton Organic Gardens will be operated by midlands-based, Webbs Garden Centres, as from 1 February.
Found this on the web – dating from 2007
You may need a working knowledge of Japanese though:-)
Although the Kent and Sussex Courier has not given us permission to re-publish the text of their article (here); we have the permission of the original authors, to re-post their own comments on the article…
“Let us do everything possible to keep Kent’s truly ‘green’ showcase alive and attractive to all ages. It is unfortunate that two operators in succession, a Midlands charity in chaos and a business without a business plan for Yalding, have left supporters despondent but I am sure that I speak for my fellow volunteer helpers in saying we are all ready to help. continue reading…
You may have already seen the article on the Garden’s closure in yesterday’s Paddock Wood edition of the Kent and Sussex Courier. It is however now available on-line, on the thisiskent.co.uk website. Please follow this link.
Please add a comment on the thisiskent article, if you wish. It can only help with publicity.
Figures recently released on the Charity Commission website; indicate that the Gardens’ owners, the Congelow Organic Educational Charitable Trust, made a loss of £10,782 in the year to 5 April 2009 – notwithstanding the fact that they had more than doubled their income.
Latest news from the Congelow Trust: “Things are moving on… We are hopeful that the gardens will be open at or a little before Easter”
Let us hope that this optimism turns-out not to be unfounded – but more importantly; that whatever solution the Trust has found this time, proves more in keeping with the Gardens’ ethos and better for their long-term prospects, than their last choice.
(This is a re-post of my response (as a comment) to Amanda Abbitt’s comment, (on the “Not a Good Fit” post) suggesting Hadlow College as a possible new ‘operator’…)
Hadlow would certainly seem to be one of the obvious candidates; and I believe that there were some discussions with them, at the time of the ‘first’ closure – following the GO withdrawal. I was however advised then, by one of the Congelow Trustees, that they “didn’t go anywhere”.
