The Brief

Almondsbury Garden Centre had been involved in a lengthy planning permission stalemate, which left them feeling like they had fallen behind local competition. Newspan recommended the extension of five spans of existing glasshouse buildings, at both ends. A plan that would sidestep obstacles to previous new build proposals. Greenhouses are notoriously difficult to heat and cool, which can result in the running costs becoming a real problem for garden centre owners so as well as the extension we were tasked with a refurbishment of the whole building.

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  • Design
    Planning permission stalemate avoided

    The extension and refurbishment avoided previous hurdles that new build proposals encountered.

  • Deliver
    Business as usual approach

    The on site team were praised for how well they worked with others on site

The Solution

Newspan removed the old glass and used the existing frame to mount our insulated roof to the existing 5 spans. We then extended the frame at both ends to allow more retail space and applied the same insulated cladding. The specification also includes double glazing and automatic doors. Now Almondsbury has the use of 5 enclosed and insulated garden centre buildings, providing a comfortable shopping environment all round.

The restaurant is now twice the size of the previous cafe, seating 250 people, and the extension is seamlessly integrated. Almondsbury Managing Director, Phil Hodges said: “The improvements are so significant that I don’t think a first-time customer here would know our buildings aren’t new. They’re bigger, look great and perform better”.

Even at the increased size the buildings have already proved to be much more efficient to heat and keep warm in the winter, contributing to savings on running costs.

Special Projects

Newspan’s structures can be adapted to suit many public access applications.