The last garden centre in Oxford city centre is closing, marking the end of an era. Summertown Garden Centre in Banbury Road is selling off what remains of its stock, with owner Stuart Meanwell concentrating on his thriving cycle business which will expand into the premises.

Mr Meanwell said: "A lot of people are sad to see the place closing, especially the elderly, who love their gardens.

"But it is a matter of economics. We might see 50 customers a day but they are only spending £4-5, which is not enough to sustain the overheads in this area.

"There have been a lot of complaints and I feel a bit guilty, but effectively it was losing money."

Mr Meanwell added that the majority of people now preferred to travel to garden centres outside of the city, such as at Yarnton, for a day out.

The closure comes little more than a year after West's garden centre in Headington shut its doors for the final time, ending more than 100 years of business.

The owners blamed dwindling trade, thanks to competition from big garden centres and traffic problems. The Summertown business was opened in about 1962 by then celebrity gardener Percy Thrower as Clows garden centre, after the Banbury firm decided to expand to Oxford.

It was run by Michael Barrow who changed the name to the Summertown Garden Centre. He eventually took the business over fully in 1979, running it until 1999, when he retired.

Then it was taken over by the owners of The Garden florists in the Covered Market who ran it for five years until 2004, when Mr Meanwell, owner of Bike Zone in Market Street, Oxford, introduced the unusual combination of cycle sales and repairs and garden centre in two distinct units.

At the time, he told The Oxford Times that he "Daren't close the garden centre because there would be an outcry".

Former proprietor Mr Barrow, who still owns the property, said: "Summertown was the sole surviving garden centre in the city centre and it is very sad to see it go."

Meanwhile, Steve Jebbett, owner of garden furniture, tools and accessories business Town Garden in North Parade, Oxford, said he was looking to expand his business to include plants, compost and seeds in the near future, as a result of the Summertown store's closure.