Brits spend £23 million on garden improvements

Forget home improvements - the latest obsession for British homeowners is garden improvements, according to new research from Santander Insurance, which reveals that Britons have collectively spent £5.2 billion sprucing up their gardens in the past year.

The study shows that the average Briton with outside space has spent £1,280 improving their garden area in the past year and estimates that these improvements have added an average of nearly £3,300 to the value of their home as a result.

The research by Santander Insurance reveals that 17 million (39 per cent) Brits have transformed the way they use their outdoor space in recent years.  Of those who have adapted their gardens in the past year, more than a third (35 per cent) have adapted their gardens into a relaxation area, 11 per cent have made changes to create extra living space and six per cent have created a secure parking space.

Financial strain has also impacted the transformation of Britain's gardens with 4.3 million Britons creating vegetable patches in an attempt to save money in the past year alone.  This is almost a two-fold increase on the number of Brits looking to re-create ‘the good life' in their back gardens the previous year.  

According to the research, Britain's ‘must have' garden features include garden furniture, owned by 62 per cent of those with a garden, garden sheds (55 per cent), vegetable patches (28 per cent) and greenhouses (17 per cent).  More than one in seven garden owners (15 per cent) has decking outside their home, one in 10 (10 per cent) has a fish pond, and almost three million (six per cent) Britons have garden gnomes on their lawn.

Colin Greenhill, Director of Santander Insurance commented: "As the property market continues to be challenging, more and more people are choosing to invest in improvements to their current home rather than moving to a new property.  Our research shows that Britons are seeking to maximise the value of their entire property by looking beyond interior home improvements and boosting the value of their property by improving the garden area.

"While spending money on garden improvements can certainly increase the overall value of the property, many garden features are valuable in their own right and don't benefit from the security that items kept inside the home do, so it's important to make sure they are adequately insured."

Santander Insurance offers a range of home insurance products, which cover the contents of your home and garden including Choices, Options and Peace of Mind Plus.  For further information, visit santander.co.uk/insurance.