G ARDEN centres across the country are adapting to a changing customer demand and Tomlins in Brentwood are no different.
The Mascalls Lane business has begun a raft of changes aimed at becoming more than just a garden centre.
Developments include the construction of a restaurant, a butcher's, a farm shop and a children's play area.
Paul Coxwell, 29, the Tomlins general manager, said: "We are really looking forward to where this new chapter is leading.
"We will have our own local butcher's, a restaurant that can seat 120 people, we want to become a shopping destination where you can spend a day out.
"Out of town shopping centres have shown that people like treating shopping as a day out and that is what we want to offer.
"We have been around for 53 years and people know us, they trust us, this plan is about adapting for the next 50 years."
Environmental sustainability is also a key part of the Tomlins development, with solar panels being installed on top of the new warehouse.
"We aim to be completely self-sustainable in electricity use, we already capture rain water and have done for over 10 years," said Mr Coxwell.
More than 50 jobs will be created over the next year, which Paul sees as giving back to the community.
"We have a special customer service experience that we provide and all our new staff will be handpicked to continue this tradition," he said.
Despite the drastic change to the business, sticking to their roots is essential.
Paul said: "We are changing to offer our customers a better service, but we will still be a garden centre."
Tomlins wants to remain at the heart of the community, with a butcher's and farm shop offering locally sourced produce.
The restaurant will adhere to the same principles, with its freshly prepared meals all made on site.
They will also be expanding into the realms of online shopping, with an e-commerce website offering click and collect and nationwide delivery.
The garden centre, which has been on its current site for 35 years, changed ownership two years ago and has been heavily invested in since then by the new owner, David Milne.
Mr Coxwell said: "We are always looking for ways to adapt to the customers' needs, we offer many services now and will continue them throughout our modernisation and afterwards.
"The changes will continue to take place over the next year but customers can still come in as usual, we are only closing for a short time in December."