Celebrity chef and long-time Erskine supporter Nick Nairn will tomorrow open the £2.7 million Erskine Garden Centre and café designed by Archial Architects to the public.

The 40,000 sq ft purpose-built facility, which replaces the former Erskine Garden Centre in the heart of the veterans’ charity estate, is based at the entrance to the large Bishopton estate.

Nick Nairn has given his backing to the venture by creating a delicious new menu for the Vanishing Willows Café – a name derived from the fact that the charity’s founder Sir William Macewen requested to use willow trees spotted in the grounds of the University of Glasgow to create artificial limbs for soldiers returning from the First World War.

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Archial Director Chris Cockburn, said: “The spacious new garden centre, which is clad in Scottish larch, has been designed with in-built flexibility to adapt to changing space requirements. The Vanishing Willows café has 104 covers internally with views to the countryside and 40 externally on the terrace overlooking the flower displays, making it an ideal destination venue to while away an afternoon.”

The new Erskine Garden Centre has over 100 car parking spaces for customers.

As well as giving customers the opportunity to care for their garden, the Erskine Garden Centre is an opportunity to support Scotland’s ex-Service men and women as all the money raised through the venture will go directly towards the care of veterans at five homes across Scotland.

In addition to Archial Architects, the project team included: project managers Doig Hart; structural engineers Struer; building services engineers Hulley & Kirkwood and landscape architects Christopher Palmer Associates.

The Erskine Garden Centre is open Monday to Friday 9.00am-5pm; Saturday to Sunday 9.30am-5pm.

(GK)