The chief executive of the National Garden Scheme is to retire after 15 years in post.
George Plumptre will step down as CEO of the charity, which gives visitors access to more than 3,500 private gardens to raise money for nursing and health charities, in the summer.
The charity said that during Plumptre’s tenure, the charity raised record levels of donations and gained a new profile as a supporter of nursing and health.
Plumptre also initiated the charity’s promotion of the health and wellbeing benefits of gardens and gardening.
He was responsible for the charity’s commissioning of a 2016 report about the policy implications of gardens and health, which donated more than £3.7m to gardens and health-related projects.
Plumptre said: “The opportunity to lead this unique charity for 15 years has been the great privilege of my working life and I have loved every minute of it.
“However, the National Garden Scheme will celebrate its centenary in 2027 and I feel strongly that the person leading the charity at that time must also be the person who will be leading it for the years thereafter, not someone who is about to retire.”
He added that the centenary is a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity for the charity and that a new chief executive would “maximise this”.
Plumptre said he would stay on in a part-time role to manage some centenary projects that he had initiated, after which he planned to explore new opportunities and challenges.
The charity will begin its search for a new chief executive early next year.
Rupert Tyler, chair of the National Garden Scheme, said Plumptre’s dedication to the charity and its beneficiary organisations had been “unparalleled”.
He said: “George has had a transformative effect on the National Garden Scheme over the years that he has led the charity. He has widened the range of our beneficiary charities and greatly increased the amount we can donate to them each year.
“His personal leadership qualities really shone out during the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic when, as well as providing constant reassurance to everyone, he masterminded our response so that despite everything we were able to give normal donations during both 2020 and 2021.”