AN independent retailer in Poole is undergoing a major expansion.

Wild Roots, the houseplant and homeware store in Kingland, is expanding into the next door unit - doubling its store size to 1,740 square feet.

Due to open at the end of October, the new space will allow Wild Roots to host workshops for the local community, such as terrarium and festive wreath making.

The remaining shop floor space will allow for increased stockholding, delivering a wider variety of plant and lifestyle products for shoppers.

Hope Dean, owner of the store, said: “I am so thankful for the loyalty the local community has shown me since I opened the door to Wild Roots just over four years ago.

“I can’t wait to unveil our expansion and share our new events space. I am currently working on a workshop programme to include some free community events.”

Hope DeanHope Dean (Image: Liz Lean PR)

Hope started her business after being made redundant in the pandemic. Wild Roots was one of the first independent retailers to open after the regeneration of Kingland Crescent, delivered by Legal & General with investment from partners such as Nest pensions.

Through the partnership with Legal & General, around 130,000 people in the Poole district who have a pension with Nest, have contributed to the rejuvenation of the high street.

Hope added: “I pay into a Nest pension myself and am a Nest employer, but I had no idea that my pension is invested in local assets such as Kingland.

"This means that in a way myself and my team are reinvesting in our business and so are everyday people in the community."

The original businesses at Kingland benefitted from no rent or business rates for the first two years of the scheme.

Legal & General was the first to create an initiative of this kind in the country and partnered with organisations such as Nest pensions to help fund the regeneration project.

Hope said: “I am so proud of what I have achieved in my first four years of business and am so grateful to already be expanding the store.

"I always dreamed of owning a shop and the Kingland scheme has enabled me to take the business further than I could have ever imagined.

"Being able to employ my mum and work so closely together has been the cherry on top of the last four years. I can’t wait to see where Wild Roots will go next."