AN award-winning garden centre in Bradford has been nominated for two more prizes in recognition of its achievements over the past 12 months.

Tong Garden Centre, based in Tong Lane, has been named as a finalist in two categories at the annual Horticulture Week Business Awards.

It has been shortlisted in the Best New-Build, Refurbishment, Refit or Extension category, and the Best Sales or Marketing Campaign category of the awards.

The shortlists have been compiled by an expert panel of academics, and representatives from the industry, professional and charity sectors.

The team at Tong will find out if they have been successful at a glitzy ceremony being held at the Grosvenor Square Marriott Hotel in London on June 27.

Jo Dales, marketing manager at Tong Garden Centre, said she is delighted by the news.

She said: “To reach the final in two categories is testament to the fabulous team we have at Tong who have worked tirelessly to implement the Food Hall refurb and to deliver an exceptional Christmas campaign.

“Giving our customers a fantastic experience underpins everything we do at Tong and it’s very rewarding that our efforts have been recognised nationally.”

The nomination for Best New-Build, Refurbishment, Refit or Extension is in recognition of work done at the garden centre to refurbish its popular food hall.

A major revamp of the hall has taken place, giving shoppers a wider selection of produce to choose from, including a delicatessen, patisserie, butchers, bakery, more than 100 different types of beer and much more.

In the Best Marketing Campaign category, the centre’s ‘Wonder’ Christmas campaign impressed the judges enough to make the shortlist.

This is the second year the Horticulture Week Business Awards have taken place, to recognise the cream of the crop in the gardening and horticulture industry.

A spokesperson said: “The goal of this pan-industry awards scheme is to honour the outstanding achievements of businesses operating in production, garden retail, landscape contracting, arboriculture and more - and to ensure those achievements are recognised by the industry’s customers, clients and stakeholders.”

Tong Garden Centre, which sits on a 14-acre site with 110,000 sq ft of retail space, has won a number of awards in recent years, including Small or Medium-sized Enterprise of the Year at the 2017 Bradford Means Business Awards, and has also been named Garden Centre of the Year and Most Improved Centre.

It is also underway with a major £4 million expansion programme at the centre, which was recently green-lighted by Bradford Council.

It includes a new two-storey extension, a new events space, and a number of log cabins.