A bitter row has escalated between the Garden Centre Group and Green Fields Farm Shop in Telford, Shropshire, culminating in the farm shop accusing the GCG of "corporate bullying" while the GCG claim trepass, damage and a vigorous denial of 'David and Goliath' reports.
GCG-owned Wyevale Garden Centre and Green Fields, part of a privately-owned specialist farm shop group Country Food & Dining, have been operating from the same site in Donnington, Telford, since 1997 and, up until recently, had enjoyed a harmonious relationship. This was based on a lease agreement allowing Green Fields to use the access road through Wyevale's grounds as well as a section of its, car park in accordance with certain terms.

According to the GCG, Green Fields was recently found to be in breach of a number of terms including "encroachments, conditions on the sale of goods and trespass on its property."

Green Fields' general manager Natalie Walker told DIY Week: "Everything was fine until about three weeks ago when we got a lawyer letter saying we had breached the terms of our agreement because we had been selling certain products. We immediately removed them, but Wyevale changed the locks to the front gates and ripped down all our signs."

The two businesses are also waging war over the subject of four caravans which occupy Green Fields' freehold land. The GCG have now blocked these off with steel fencing, after alleging that they had no planning permission to be there. Mention was also made about the caravans' occupiers trespassing on Wyevale's land, cutting holes in its fences and parking cars on its property.

Country Food & Dining chairman David Bruce contacted GCG parent group Terra Firma warning that restricting access to the caravans this way could result in "culpable manslaughter" in case of a fire. Green Fields later received a letter saying any further attempt to contact the Wyevale manager would result in the police being called.

Thousands of supporters have rallied against the GCG on social networking sites supporting Green Fields, and a petition has been launched calling for the GCG to "stop using bully boy tactics."

Green Fields has accused the GCG of only communicating via "threatening and hostile letters from their big London lawyers." But the GCG has hit back at 'David and Goliath' reports, pointing out Green Fields is "a multi-site farm shop business [whose] shareholders are city investors."

The GCG added ni a statement: "In the interests of our customers and staff and protecting our property, we had no alternative but to put Greenfields [sic] on formal notice through our lawyers.

"We have previously been good neighbours and we have always tried to help them. We have written to Greenfields on a number of occasions offering to repair our good relationship."

For more on this story, see the August 24 issue of DIY Week.