A Northumberland charity has been awarded a contract to supply the floral arrangements to Morpeth's Sanderson Arcade.
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 the shopping centre’s security staff.
Located in the centre of the historic market town, Sanderson Arcade, which boasts 27 retail units, two restaurants and a health club is renowned for its displays of summer and winter floral displays, having won top accolades on multiple occasions at both national and regional level ‘In Bloom’ competitions.
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 was both local and had the community at its heart.
Lottie Thompson, Centre Manager at Sanderson Arcade, commented: “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, 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.”
Graham Carr, Horticultural Services Manager at Stakeford Nurseries, added: “We were delighted to be approached by the team at Sanderson Arcade about supplying the plants for their hanging baskets and planters.
“The idea behind Blyth Star’s day services like Stakeford Nurseries, which reflect real working environments, is to provide our service users with a meaningful way to spend their time where they can socialise, learn new skills and access endorsed packages of vocational training.
“Working together with local businesses like Sanderson Arcade is a great way for us to supplement our day services and build on service user’s horticultural knowledge and understanding by providing them with projects and experiences which also allow them to engage with the local community – something which can be difficult for them due to the nature of their disabilities.”
In total, staff and service users from Blyth Star’s Stakeford Nurseries planted up 23 large hanging baskets, six wall planters and a number of freestanding planters to supply to Sanderson Arcade.
For more information about Blyth Star Enterprises and Stakeford Nurseries, visit www.blythstar.org.uk or to find out more about Sanderson Arcade, visit www.sandersonarcade.co.uk