Councillors grant permission for new 50,000sq ft state-of-the art Garden World at Hampton, Peterborough.
Construction will start this spring, with plans for the centre to open to Cambridgeshire customers in early autumn.

When completed, the 50,000sq ft centre opposite the Serpentine Green shopping centre, will house more than 100,000 plants, trees and shrubs, a specialist aquatics department, as well as a farm foodhall and restaurant.

Dobbies director of property Stuart Wright said: "We're delighted to being a step closer to opening our first Dobbies Garden World in Peterborough. We want to thank Peterborough City Council for their enthusiasm for economic development in the region and for their continued support in backing our planning application, which will allow us to bring a new generation of garden centre to customers in the Cambridgeshire area."

According to the Tesco-owned gardening chain, the Peterborough planning submission received an overwhelmingly positive response at public consultation stage. More than 100 local people attended to discuss the plans with the Dobbies team and, of those that filled out a questionnaire, 97% backed plans for the centre.

The £8m development will be constructed from sustainably-sourced timber and other natural construction materials and will feature energy efficient lighting systems and rainwater recycling. Dobbies bosses are also ken to source local suppliers to stock its foodhall and provide produce for the restaurant.