The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) chief executive Fran Barnes has released a call for action aimed at the government to support environmental horticulture, protect Britain’s 22m gardens and remove barriers to growth at its annual conference. 

The conference was held at the London’s Barbican on 25 September addressing an auditorium full of HTA members, industry leaders and parliamentarians. 

During her keynote speech, Barnes says “we need to prioritise and invest in green infrastructure,” adding:

“Recent green landscaping projects just a couple of miles away in the City of London show us what’s possible. This is why we need a Government Office for Green Spaces to be created, to co-ordinate and champion green infrastructure across all government departments.”

Turning to economic pressures, Barnes also addresses last year’s autumn budget measures. She explains the “government’s role is to give certainty. The government’s role is to deliver confidence. Last autumn, the government did neither.”

“(This) is a prime example of how to undermine an entire sector. National Insurance rises, an increase in the National Living Wage and inheritance tax changes, all combined at once, have a disproportionate effect on environmental horticulture.”

The address was also an opportunity to launch HTA’s new Value of Gardens report and a farewell tribute to the outgoing HTA chairman James Barnes.