Final closure for Stapeley
6 January 2012
Stapeley Water Gardens near Nantwich in Cheshire, famous for its tropical palm display house, has closed after 45 years to make way for a housing development.
The palm house had already closed temporarily in 2010, amid complications over the development of the site. Now, however, the owners have said a downturn in sales and continuing decline in visitor numbers has contributed to the decision to permanently close both Palm House and garden centre, with the loss of dozens of jobs, although the on-site Angling Centre will continue to trade as usual.
'The centre is a well-known tourist attraction and to lose something like this is very sad news,' said local councillor Andrew Martin. 'It's a place that people in the area have been visiting for years..'
The 0.8 hectare (two-acre) glasshouse, known as The Palms Tropical Oasis, included exotic specimen plants such as Victoria amazonica (Amazonian waterlily) and a variety of wildlife, now re-homed at zoos around the country. It will be replaced by a development of up to 150 new homes.