A �100m scheme to redevelop a 1,000-acre estate near Stoke-on-Trent has been approved by the government.

The plans for Trentham Gardens were the subject of a lengthy public inquiry last year.

The scheme involves the restoration of the famous gardens, using Trentham Hall as a hotel, plus development of a restaurant, holiday lodges, shops and a monkey park.

Campaigners against the scheme have said they are worried about the environmental impact and the effect on traffic.

Job opportunities

Trentham Gardens is a country estate with formal gardens, woodland, parkland and an 85-acre lake.

The development scheme, by St Modwen Properties is expected to create more than 1000 jobs.

The initial plans were scaled down but objectors, including the Council for the Protection of Rural England, still felt the development would be a blot on the landscape.

Anthony Glossop, the chief executive of St Modwen Properties, said: "English Nature supported the scheme.

"English Nature would not have supported the scheme if we had not been able to satisfy them that the concerns could be addressed by the amelioration measures that we proposed.

"On the traffic one, we are contributing to road improvements as far south as Stone.

"We'll be contributing to some road improvements that the council already wanted to do, and they have now got some money, or will get some money, from us for this."