Trentham gardeners face anxious wait
14 October 2008
Gardeners and other staff at the Trentham Estate, Staffordshire, face an anxious month after being told they all face possible redundancy.
Owners of the site, St Modwen Properties and Willi Rietz (who form the board of Trentham Leisure), have decided to restructure the management and operations at the 303ha (748 acre) estate and are now carrying out a consultation and review process. While this is happening all staff directly employed by the estate have been placed under formal notice.
Bill Oliver, St Modwen’s Chief Executive Officer, said the company was still very much committed to Trentham, particularly the Italian Gardens, park and lake and was taking the steps to ensure the estate’s future. ‘Some elements, have not delivered the levels of income required to justify their running costs, this – coupled with the current difficult economic climate – means we have to take action’, he said.
St Modwen’s office in north Staffordshire will combine with Trentham’s management and relocate to the office on the estate, but the hope is that few redundancies will actually happen.
Tenant businesses on the site, such as Trentham Garden Centre, are aware of the restructuring but are not directly affected by it.