{"id":127266,"date":"2026-10-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=127266"},"modified":"2026-10-20T01:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:08:50","slug":"garden-centre-chain-53-uk-stores-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/garden-centre-chain-53-uk-stores-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden Centre Chain With 53 UK Stores Announces Closure as Final Clearance Sale Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dobbies Garden Centres is closing its Antrim store in Northern Ireland at the end of October 2026, just three years after opening. The closure follows a redevelopment decision by the site’s new landlord, Frasers Group, and comes as the retailer runs a final clearance sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dobbies Launches Final Clearance Sale Ahead of Antrim Closure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The garden centre, located at The Junction Shopping Complex on Ballymena Road<\/strong>, is preparing to shut permanently, according to The Sun<\/a><\/em>. A closing-down sale is underway as the retailer clears its remaining stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Antrim branch opened in 2023, offering plants, gardening equipment and other products to shoppers visiting the retail complex<\/a>. Its departure comes after a relatively short period of trading at a location primarily associated with outlet shopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been some confusion over the precise closing date. An update on the store’s website indicated that operations would end by the middle of October<\/strong>, while a subsequent statement from Dobbies confirmed that the closure would take place at the end of October 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No specific final trading day has been announced, and the retailer has not provided details of individual clearance discounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure affects one of the locations operated by Dobbies, a British garden centre chain reported to have 53 stores across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The closure affects one of the locations operated by Dobbies, a British garden centre chain reported to have 53 stores across the UK.
Credit: Les Gallagher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frasers Group Redevelopment Plans Behind the Decision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The closure is linked to changes at The Junction<\/strong> rather than a publicly announced decision by Dobbies to withdraw from the area for commercial reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frasers Group, the retail company that owns Sports Direct, has taken control of the shopping complex and intends to redevelop the location for other retail and leisure activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Dobbies told Love Ballymena:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cDobbies will close its Antrim garden centre at the end of October following the decision by its new Landlord, Frasers Group, to redevelop the site for new retail and leisure uses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The spokesperson also described the retailer’s experience at the shopping destination:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSince opening in 2023, Dobbies has worked closely with The Junction to establish a garden centre in a unique destination better known for outlet retail.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The company acknowledged the relationships developed with customers during its three years at the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe store has built a loyal customer base, and we are proud of what has been achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The statements identify the landlord’s redevelopment plans as the reason for the closure. They do not specify which businesses or leisure facilities will eventually occupy the garden centre’s space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A popular UK garden centre chain with 53 stores is preparing to close one of its locations after just three years, launching a final clearance sale as redevelopment plans force the much-loved store to shut permanently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":116573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127266"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127269,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127266\/revisions\/127269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}