Squire’s chairman, deputy chairman and the Mayor of Runnymede councillor Alan Alderson officially opened the new Squire’s Garden Centre in Chertsey on Wednesday, March 1.

A plaque was unveiled on a 300-year old olive tree, which had been planted by chairman Colin Squire to commemorate the opening of the new centre. An olive tree was chosen as it’s a tree of great vigour, very hardy and easy to grow, and it is a symbol of abundance, glory and peace.

Invited guests had a tour of the garden centre, which has a new outdoor plant area and a stylish shop with a great range of gifts. Customers enjoyed live music in the new Café Bar, which is housed in a restored 200-year old octagonal lodge building.

Squire’s is a family-owned business and £1.5 million was spent building the new garden centre, of which Matt Tanner has been appointed manager.

Chairman Colin Squire commented, “I am very proud to officially open our new garden centre in Chertsey. Thank you to the Mayor and Mayoress of Runnymede, and to other local business people for coming including The Chertsey Society, The Chertsey Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from the White Lodge Centre, an excellent charity that we support. Squire’s Chertsey is small but perfectly formed. We have a great team here, plus a few different products to make it a little bit extra special. I hope that the local community will enjoy coming to Squire’s in Chertsey as much as I do.”

Squire's recently ran a 'Spring Fever' event at the new site, and will be giving free packets of lettuce or spinach seeds to the first 50 customers this Saturday.