Thorngrove Garden Centre, having been at the heart of Gillingham for more than 50 years, has been closed to the public, though it currently continues to be used as an educational campus. Employ My Ability (EMA) purchased Thorngrove in 2017 from The Charity Scope, who were already running a day service provision at the centre, and embarked on a programme of regeneration. EMA developed the grounds and classrooms, added another glasshouse and introduced The Secret Garden Café, which soon became a popular destination not just for garden centre visitors but for dog walkers and locals enjoying a mid-week catch up or Sunday brunch. In the summer of 2021, a new barn shop was opened on the site, expanding the garden centre’s offering to their customers. The team at the garden centre has worked hard to build it into a popular community hub, with children’s holiday activities and adult workshops through the year.
Yesterday, attendees of the scheduled half-term children’s activities were unexpectedly informed of the site’s immediate closure. All associated social media accounts have since been deactivated, and Thorngrove has issued an official statement on their website:
‘Today we are sharing an important update about changes to the EMA Gillingham Campus. The on-site garden centre and café are now closed to the public.
‘The closure of the garden centre and café allows us to make positive improvements and focus on developing the Gillingham Campus by repurposing these commercial spaces to better serve both our educational and adult social care services. Part of these plans includes making use of the café environment and kitchen to enhance our hospitality courses and provide greater learning opportunities for our students and adult social care attendees, setting them up for a better pathway into the community and employment.
‘We would like to extend a sincere thank you to all members of the public who supported the café and garden centre over the years. We hope you continue to support our mission in providing an enriching learning environment for young people, and adults.All staff, parents and carers have been notified of these changes, and we wanted to share them here too. If you have further questions about this update, please feel free to contact us using the contact form on our website. Thank you. www.employmyability.org.uk’
Employ My Ability provides practical vocational courses designed to equip students with special educational needs with essential skills, experiences, and learning development. The onsite facilities at Thorngrove, which included hospitality, catering, and horticulture, played a key role in helping students gain valuable expertise and confidence.
The local community reacted with sadness and surprise on Facebook groups following the sudden closure of the centre. One commenter remarked, “That’s really sad to hear. It was a lovely walk with the dog and stop to have a nice cup of tea. A really sad loss.” Others shared similar sentiments, with some expressing their fondness for the gift shop: “Such a wonderful place to go, and the gift shop was so lovely. So many people will miss this beautiful place.”
Some voiced confusion over the closure as a business decision, with one individual commenting, “Doesn’t make sense at all – spend all that money rebuilding the shop, making the cafe the best in Gillingham, a brand-new housing estate built right next door with all those future customers… shame, another loss for Gillingham.”