Dobbies signs deal for flagship centre

Dobbies Garden Centres has signed an agreement to open a 75,000 sq ft flagship garden centre at a site being developed by Robert Hitchins Ltd.The new store, to be built at junction 9 of the M5 near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, will be the largest Dobbies in South West England.The garden centre, on a greenfield site fronting the A46 trunk road, will feature a plants and gardening department, food hall, cookshop, pet department, table service restaurant, soft play area for kids, its own 500-space car park and more.It will be on the same overall 180-acre site as the proposed 195,000 sq ft Designer Outlet Cotswolds which will feature some 90 retail units, restaurants and cafés.Infrastructure works to open up the site for development are due to commence in autumn 2020 with the garden centre and outlet village planned to open in autumn 2022.Detailed negotiations are under way with a number of retail brands that have been attracted by Designer Outlet Cotswolds’ location and links and its catchment area.Both the designer outlet and garden centre are part of a wider development by Robert Hitchins which will also include 850 homes, a school and a local centre adjacent to an existing M&S supermarket, Starbucks and BP petrol filling station.The agent acting for Robert Hitchins on the Dobbies deal was Gilbert Evans.