Gates Garden Centre Avis 

The ugly side of gates garden centre management and owners
This is going to be a long one!

On Thursday morning a had a call from a member of staff from a local garden centre (GATES) , he was really concerned as living outside the back of the kitchens there were 2 small kittens & mum hadn't been seen for 3/4 days. He had also found the remains of a 3rd😪.
He asked if I'd be able to help trap them & take them into foster care.

I tried to call GATES but there was an issue with the fone lines, so a friend & i went to GATES with a humane cat trap, basket , food & gloves.

On arrival at GATES we headed to the restaurant & approached a member of staff that turned out to be the manager Mark. Unfortunately he wasn't very accommodating & said he hadn't decided what to do about the kittens, mum cat had previously had lots of litters but was NOT their cat & he'd have to speak to the owner Jack. So I gave him my card & said I'd be around for an hour if he'd like to contact me before I left?

As it turns out there's no fone signal in gates so I had to go back.
On my return I spoke to another lad who was very polite but informed me that the kittens were ok way they were.... they'd survive ok out side ! I did the usual chat about kittens having kittens & offered to get mum ( if/when she turned up) neutered & returned at no cost to them but the kittens needed help now & I'd be happy to trap them. But they said no.

So I had to walk away😪

I had to inform the lad of their decision & he said he would try to talk to his manager.

Yesterday I had a text from the lad to say he had been sacked for misconduct, but given no explanation as to what he had done. He had never been in trouble at work before .
As you can imagine I blew a gasket & called GATES. I explained the situation to another manager Claire & said I felt the situation was now out of hand & the lad had called out of concern for the kittens & now he was sacked there would be no one to feed them?! She said she would call me back when she had spoke to someone about the situation.

And she did, with a totally different attitude.... to say she was rude was an understatement. They were not impressed that after turning down my offer of help the lad had involved the RSPCA.
And I'm pleased he did!
I have also spoken to the RSPCA inspector! It's in there hands now & it's not like they don't have enough on their plates with the post pandemic situation?

There has long been a problem with feral & stray cats on the road to the garden centre in Cold Overton & over the years several rescue groups have tried to help but as long as people have this attitude to trapping & neutering stray & feral cats it's never going to be solved ?
That poor mum cat will go on having more kittens & the kittens may not survive?

animal abusers. They have feral cats that they refuse anyone to allow to help and sack staff that speak out

Ordered garden lounger yesterday, and was surprised to receive it today. Delighted with both the quality of the product, and the efficiency of the service
My thanks to all concerned

2 X Quest Pro Relax Chairs.

It took 20 minutes to order online, pay and receive a tracking number. They turned up the following day, bang on time. I’ve just spent a week trying to get same order from another company (see review). I highly recommend Gates as they seem to know how this whole online thing works. Here Endeth the lesson.

Ordered 2 Hartman Capri Sunloungers. They arrived within days. The packaging was flawless and the loungers are splendid.
Gates were great with communicating updates, both by email and phone. Great service.

My husband is disabled after a stroke, So to keep him busy I ordered some H.O.P puzzles. Not only are the puzzles excellent, the price is better than anywhere else I could find. Gates give free postage over a certain price spend, delivery was quick, and they keep you informed of delivery time.
In the past I have been to Gates to eat and buy other things. Food is excellent and I will be glad when I feel safe enough and am able to return.
Thank You to all at Gates Garden Centre.

Visited Gates Garden Centre 2 days ago. It was our first time there and we felt safe shopping there. On entry there were hand sanitizers to use. We later ventured towards the restaurant (that was one of the main reasons why we decided to come here as the pic online looks very lovely.) Well we weren't disappointed, the restaurant has a lovely warm atmosphere with woodburner fires and the tables were very well spaced out. The size of restaurant is massive, so plenty of seats to find. We opted for the lunch, mum had ham, egg & chips, which we were told its proper carved ham and liked it, sis had bacon brie & chilli pannini with salad, it was a decent proportion and I decided to try the haddock & spring onion fish cakes with chips and salad. My fishcakes were tasty, I think I got the best dish as mine came with a jug of hollandaise sauce which was plentyful. Staff were friendly and helpful. Will definitely visit again.

Gates Garden Centre is a great place.

The staff members are very knowledgable and happy to help out and answer questions, which is great when you're a novice gardener! Also, the layout during different seasons is always well thought out, and this is my favourite garden centre to visit around Christmas time!

The restaurant is lovely too, the cakes are delicious, and I felt very safe there on my last visit with the covid measures in place.