Plans to completely renovate a garden centre and open an outdoor activity hub next to a canal could be funded by building seven new homes.

Bosses say the expansion proposed for Hamstreet Garden Centre near Ashford would make the business more viable as many of its buildings are in desperate need of repair.

Plans submitted to Ashford Borough Council (ABC) show owners Grovewell – which also has centres in Tenterden, Canterbury and Folkestone – want to renovate the whole site while building the properties next to the centre.

If approved, the existing polytunnels and glasshouses will be demolished under the scheme to make way for new ones while some of the existing buildings will be expanded and renovated.

It is hoped the work will make the centre a tourism attraction and a community hub while improving access to the countryside and the neighbouring Royal Military Canal.

A building next to the canal would be knocked down to make way for the outdoor activity centre which hopes to offer bicycle, paddleboard and kayak hire, and cafe with 200 seats.

The footpath which runs along the waterway could also be upgraded to a shared cycle path to improve access, something which ABC has long held plans to do.

A 139-space car park for customers will be relocated to the front of the garden centre which will include 12 disabled bays, 10 for motorbikes and 12 for push bikes.

A staff car park with 24 spaces will also be created around the back of the building.

Eight spaces in the customer car park, and two in staff car park, will be reserved for electric vehicles with charging points.

A new private road would be created to access the homes to the north of the garden centre which will be a mix of three, four and five bedrooms.

When the plans were first discussed in 2020, bosses hoped to build 14 homes.

However this was later halved after pre-application advice from the council showed mixed support for the housing aspect of the development.

In 2019, the business was bought by Grovewell for £1 million.

It announced the plans to upgrade and expand the site when it changed hands to bring it up to scratch with the centres in Tenterden, Canterbury and Folkestone.