£8m plans for garden centre and food hall

The £8m Dobbies Garden World development at York Business Park, in Nether Poppleton, will offer more than 10,000 plants, shrubs and trees and include extensive outdoor areas and a specialist aquatics department within a landscaped environment.

It will also house a farm food hall offering locally-grown produce, as well as a 350-seater restaurant and could create up to 120 new jobs if York Council agrees to back planning officers and approve the centre on Thursday.

Stuart Wright, director of property at Dobbies, said: “We are pleased to have been recommended for planning approval for our new state-of-the-art garden centre in Nether Poppleton.

“The planned York Garden World is a new concept in garden retailing which will encourage an environmentally-friendly approach to 21st century living where all the family can enjoy planting and growing.

“We are hoping to help boost the local economy in a sustainable way by providing jobs for local people and we will also be working with Yorkshire suppliers.”

The garden centre, which is proposed on an eight acre site off the A1237 outer ring road, received support from the community following a public consultation last September.

However concerns have been raised by residents and retailers over the possible impact on village shops, with main fears centring on the food hall.

Residents are also worried about tailbacks on the nearby A59 roundabout, however the developers have agreed to pay £59,000 towards planned improvements to the roundabout, which will combat the rise in traffic levels.

Founded in 1865, Scotland-based Dobbies has 32 stores throughout the UK and became part of the Tesco group in 2007.