The Garden Centre Association has announced Phil McCann and Mark Taylor will be joining its team of inspectors.

The pair will be responsible for inspecting member garden centres in South Thames, with McCann inspecting those in the garden centre category and Taylor checking members in the destination garden centre category.

Iain Wylie, GCA chief executive, said: “We’re thrilled to have Phil and Mark joining our established team of inspectors.

“Phil has vast experience in the horticultural industry and graduated as a plant scientist and Mark studied at Writtle Agricultural College and has a HND in Commercial Horticulture.

“They will be integral in helping members to keep on improving standards and innovation through their annual inspection visits. The inspection process is very thorough and detailed, the GCA inspectors not only complete the inspection form during their visit but also give objective and honest feedback to the centres’ teams on the day before sending them their report.

“They will then make presentations at our regional meetings and during our annual conference in 2021.

“The 2020 inspections for member garden centres commence on March 16, 2020 and the inspectors are out visiting them until June 19, 2020, so those in South Thames can expect to see Phil and Mark soon.”