Best areas to open garden centre in North East
4 North East local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real rent, wages, rates and market density.
Where is the best place to open a garden centre in North East?
In North East, the best area to open a garden centre is County Durham, with a Gera Business Location Score of 52.9/100: premises at £12/m²/yr and local median pay £29,393. Stockton-on-Tees ranks lowest of 4 North East authorities at 46.1/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top North East area for garden centre: County Durham.
How this is calculatedNorth East ranked for garden centre
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | County Durham | 52.9/100 | £12 | £29,393 | £518 |
| 2 | Gateshead | 48.8/100 | £19 | £28,507 | £821 |
| 3 | Northumberland | 46.8/100 | £21 | £27,769 | £907 |
| 4 | Stockton-on-Tees | 46.1/100 | £17 | £29,537 | £734 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for garden centre premises in North East?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in North East is £12/m²/yr in County Durham. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, County Durham ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for garden centre in County Durham?
- For a 100 m² unit in County Durham, business rates are roughly £518/yr at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p), on top of about £1,200/yr rent — before Small Business Rate Relief.
Opening a garden centre in North East?
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Contains public sector information published by Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: VOA Business Floorspace + ONS Business Counts + ONS ASHE (work geography) + ONS population estimates (2025 (VOA 31 March 2025; ASHE 2025 provisional; Business Counts 2025; population mid-2024), published December 2025).