Dobbies to reopen all its Scottish garden centres

Dobbies will reopen all Scottish stores on Friday as the country enters the first phase of easing lockdown restrictions.

The Scottish Government gave garden centres the go-ahead to reopen this weekend along with drive-through food and drink outlets as part of its four-stage route map out of lockdown.

Garden centres in Stirling, Perth, Milngavie, Dunfermline, Braehead, Livingston, Dundee, Sandyholm, Edinburgh, Inverness, Ayr and Aberdeen will open their doors on Friday morning.

Bosses say there will be a limited number of customers permitted in the stores at one time and a queuing system will be in operation outside the stores.

They also promise hand sanitising and trolley cleaning stations available at the entrance of all stores.

Protective screens have been installed at tills and customers will be asked to pay with card or contactless, where possible.

Appropriate PPE has been provided for team members, who will also receive training and regular briefings on how to keep themselves and customers safe.

The restaurants and soft plays will remain temporarily closed to adhere to the current restrictions.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “We welcome this updated guidance from the Scottish Government, enabling us to reopen our 12 stores across Scotland on Friday, May 29.

“The safety of our team members and customers remains Dobbies’ number one priority and following advice from the government, Horticultural Trades Association and British Retail Consortium, social distancing measures have been implemented.”