Wow! Rugby in line for massive injection of fun for all

Dobbies – the place many still call Blooms – on the Straight Mile wants to transform the unit that used to be home to World of Water into a completely different kind of attraction.

And those who remember it from its previous use will know it was a big space, so we could be in for something special.

The company has applied to Rugby Borough Council for permission to change the use of the unit, which leads off the main building.

The application – reference R23/0182 – sets out the reasons for the bid.

A planning statement it has submitted says: “In the context of modern retailing trends and in order to help maintain our position as a leading visitor destination, the overall offer of a typical Dobbies garden centre is continually evolving to provide for a wider assortment of goods and services on site that are sold alongside more traditional gardening-related products.

"The Rugby centre has developed to become a major retail and leisure destination in its own right, attracting high numbers of visitors.

"These proposals will assist in taking the centre forward and provide an enhanced visitor experience.

"Dobbies are seeking to introduce an inflatable adventure play park, branded Innoflate, into an existing vacant unit.

"The new offer would trade predominantly within the opening hours of the garden centre (which are 9am-6pm Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm Saturday, 10.30am-4.30pm Sunday), with a slightly later finish on Friday and Saturday (9am-8pm) and Sunday (9.30am-6pm).”

World of Water left the site in 2020 and the application says the plan is to use the whole space for the adventure park – it is 905 square metres inside. Because no changes will be made to the outside, the company just needs change of use permission.

A quick search for Innoflate shows a company based in Scotland that already has a tie-up with a Dobbies centre in the Dundee area. Dobbies is also Scottish so the link is an easy one to make.

Innoflate has four centres already, with a fifth on its way and videos of the existing sites show a huge inflatable complex, open to adults and children.