FURTHER expansion throughout Yorkshire are the future plans of Tong Garden Centre which has carried away the Job Creator of the Year title for 2018.

Garden centre manager Andy Mears said the company was thrilled to have won the award.

“We are really made up for the team,” he said.

Tong Garden Centre, in Tong Lane, is one of the county’s biggest independent garden centres and occupies a 14 acre site near Tong village.

It was acquired by Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson in May, 2015 and their mission is to re-establish Tong as an iconic garden centre and to reposition it as a destination outlet for all of the family.

Their commitment to realising Tong’s potential has been underpinned by an investment of £2 million.

The investment in business has led to rapid growth which has seen the staff numbers from from 45 to 150 in the space of three years.

There are further plans to recruit a further 16 people before the end of 2018.

They have created a robust senior management tier to drive the business forward with clear strategy and structure for ongoing growth and scalability. The catering team has also grown from eight to 45 and new employment has been created in new business divisions such as the food hall, Grass Hopper, and concessions.

The company has also identified an opportunity for seasonal work at key times such as summer and Christmas to generate short term job opportunities.Food Hall, Grass Hoppers and Concessions. We have also identified an opportunity for seasonal work at key times ie: summer and Christmas, thus generating short term job opportunities

Managing director Mark Farnsworth added: “We are in a fairly labour intensive industry so in the restaurants and open spaces we operate we obviously want to make sure we have plenty of staff. But we have made a very deliberate investment in people.

“Statistically we have created lots of jobs.”