The property developer at a large Scottish garden centre chain has welcomed the 'green light' for a plan to build in Northern Ireland.

The NI Planning Service has approved plans for a new garden centre complex in Lisburn.

Scottish firm Dobbies Garden Centres said it would now move ahead with construction work for the £12m Dobbies Garden World - which will be just off the Saintfield Road Roundabout of the M1.

The initiative means there will potentially be 120 new jobs for the area.

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Stuart Wright, Dobbies Director of Property, said: "This is terrific news and means that we can now press on with construction on the site.

"We really want to be open by November 2010 at the latest and that means we have got to work to a very tight timetable. I would hope to see contractors starting to transform the site by April."

Midlothian-based Dobbies has 25 centres across the UK, with about 11 million customers a year.

It said the new development would incorporate a modern garden centre with a farm foodhall, a restaurant and aquatics.

"We want to thank local elected representatives for their continued support and particularly the Planning Service which provided an excellent service in processing and determining the amended application.

"This represents a multi-million pound investment in Lisburn and will create about 120 new jobs for the community, all of which in turn will boost the local economy for many years to come," he said.

(BMcC/GK)