Best areas to open garden centre in South West
17 South West 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 South West?
In South West, the best area to open a garden centre is West Devon, with a Gera Business Location Score of 62.6/100: premises at £12/m²/yr and local median pay £28,161. Stroud ranks lowest of 17 South West authorities at 34.1/100. From 2025 UK government open data; re-dated annually.
Gera Business Location Score
Top South West area for garden centre: West Devon.
How this is calculatedSouth West ranked for garden centre
| # | Local authority | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Devon | 62.6/100 | £12 | £28,161 | £518 |
| 2 | Cornwall | 58.8/100 | £16 | £27,006 | £691 |
| 3 | Dorset | 56/100 | £17 | £29,292 | £734 |
| 4 | Forest of Dean | 54.9/100 | £14 | £25,387 | £605 |
| 5 | South Hams | 54.2/100 | £24 | £28,329 | £1,037 |
| 6 | Somerset | 54/100 | £15 | £29,152 | £648 |
| 7 | Mid Devon | 50.2/100 | £16 | £29,224 | £691 |
| 8 | Wiltshire | 50.1/100 | £16 | £30,000 | £691 |
| 9 | Teignbridge | 48.6/100 | £19 | £28,636 | £821 |
| 10 | Bath and North East Somerset | 45.8/100 | £19 | £32,004 | £821 |
| 11 | East Devon | 44.9/100 | £22 | £31,874 | £950 |
| 12 | North Somerset | 44.2/100 | £22 | £28,749 | £950 |
| 13 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 43.7/100 | £22 | £31,121 | £950 |
| 14 | South Gloucestershire | 42/100 | £14 | £36,920 | £605 |
| 15 | Swindon | 38.9/100 | £20 | £32,933 | £864 |
| 16 | Tewkesbury | 36.6/100 | £20 | £37,088 | £864 |
| 17 | Stroud | 34.1/100 | £28 | £32,495 | £1,210 |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest area for garden centre premises in South West?
- The lowest VOA rateable value for this property type in South West is £12/m²/yr in West Devon. On the combined Gera Business Location Score, which also weighs wages and demand, West Devon ranks #1.
- How much are business rates for garden centre in West Devon?
- For a 100 m² unit in West Devon, 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 South West?
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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).