Garden centres are becoming much more than just stores selling plants and outdoor furniture as they look to fill the gaps left on our high streets.

Bosses of popular sites across Kent have revealed plans to build mini golf courses, activity centres, and larger cafes to create a “destination” shopping experience and compete with online retailers.

The new manager of Hawley Garden Centre, near Dartford, which was bought by Strood-based paving manufacturer Castacrete six months ago, Mike Oliver said he is diversifying to step up and fill the void left on the high street.

The firm plans to expand the complex including building a mini golf course and children’s preschool and growing the retail side of the businesses with wider toy ranges and a landscaping centre.

Mike told KentOnline: “With the decline of the high street, garden centres have become more of a go-to place meaning we need to have a more versatile offering which is not just plants and nice furniture.

“There has got to be more to garden centres than that, especially now with the high streets on their last legs.

“I think the industry has known that for a while and our aim is to continue utilising the space to diversify the centre.

“We already have a lot here and good tenants on site, but it is about further utilising the space and the opportunities we have here.”

The previous owners took over the garden centre in 1981 and developed the site from a basic plant nursery into what it is today.

The 7.6-acre site, in Hawley Road, Hawley, has nine independent concessions including a home office supplier, a farm shop, a dog grooming business, a car wash and a cafe.

It sells a range of products including giftware, indoor and outdoor plants, garden furniture, barbecues, toys and compost.

Mike added: “We are looking to continue developing to meet what our customers want and bring more people our way.

“We want to make it a destination.”

Across Kent, garden centres are having to adapt as people’s shopping habits have changed, according to the chief executive of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, Tudor Price.

He said: “The garden centres that have grown their offerings are turning around a good profit and we will see much more of it. It is absolutely the way forward.

“What we have started to find, your average garden centre will hold a much larger range of products and act as an out-of-town shopping centre.

“They also can offer concessions which is proving to be quite financially viable.”

Mr Price said that post-pandemic customers still favour online shopping due to its convenience.

And to compete, retailers, like garden centres, need to offer a day out which is why many are looking to leisure facilities, he adds.

“The key is accessibility,” Mr Price explains. “What we have found is retailers need to offer much more of an experience to compete with online shopping.

“In a high street setting, you have barriers like parking, floorspace and the type of businesses around. You are limited.

“If you have an out-of-town location, you have acres of parking and can expand relatively easily.”

And Hawley Garden Centre is not the only one which is adapting to meet the new demand.

Grovewell Garden Centre, in Folkestone, is looking to modernise the branch with a £3million overhaul complete with a larger restaurant to attract more customers.

Speaking recently, owner Edward Boult said: “Garden centres are evolving into a place to go for a day out, and the on-site restaurant is a big part of that.

“We already have a café at the Folkestone store, serving light lunches, and main meals but we will now be able to make it bigger.

“It is already quite a busy store, but the facilities are very dated and, to be honest, I have struggled to make a profit there.

“But I think that these changes will make everything more efficient for us and make the whole operation easier.

“We want it to be a quality garden centre. I am sure it will be well-received by the local community.”

The renovations at the Swingfield Minnis branch are expected to be complete by next summer.

Last year, the firm’s Hamstreet Garden Centre, near Ashford, also revealed plans to open an outdoor activity hub in the hopes of becoming a tourist attraction.

In proposals submitted to Ashford Borough Council, it wanted to knock down a building near the canal to make way for a centre which could offer bicycle, paddleboard and kayak hire, as well as a café with 200 seats.