An upmarket steakhouse for 170 diners could open in Ashford after plans to build a restaurant on the site of a former social club were revealed.

Bosses at the Mitchells and Butlers company, which runs Harvester and Toby Carvery restaurants across the country, want to build the steakhouse off Canterbury Road in Kennington.

They hope to open it on the former Houchin sports and social club site between the Holiday Inn hotel and M20, which has been left empty for more than 20 years.

Property developer Richard Gillam, who bought the scrubland four years ago, says he has also been in talks with Starbucks about opening a drive-through coffee shop next to the steakhouse.

He said: "I am really pleased with the Mitchells and Butlers restaurant.

"Greene King had looked at it, but Mitchells and Butlers is probably bigger than that and it is making fantastic profits at the moment.

"They have gone quite upmarket with the restaurant - I have seen the drawings of it and it looks nice."

Mr Gillam, who lives in Shoreham-by-Sea, says he had explored various ideas for the site, including plans to build an international beach volleyball stadium.

If approved, the restaurant - which would be called Miller and Carter Steakhouse - would feature a 66-space car park, a bar, and seating for 172 diners.

It would be open seven days a week between 8am and 12.30am, employing between 50 and 60 staff.

A new entrance would be installed off the A28 for drivers to access the restaurant.

Mitchells and Butlers already operates about 1,700 restaurants and pubs across the country, and is one of the largest employers in the UK with more than 44,000 staff on its books.

'They have gone quite upmarket with the restaurant...' - Richard Gillam

Its steak is aged on the bone for a minimum of seven days, then matured for a further 21.

The company has steakhouses in Sheffield, Edinburgh and Exeter.

Mr Gillam, 71, says he has been in talks with various businesses about taking over the free land between the proposed steakhouse and the Holiday Inn.

The IMO Car Wash company, Vets4Pets, and a petrol station operator had all shown interest, as well as the popular Starbucks coffee chain.

Mr Gillam added: "We did have a deal with a Starbucks drive-through - it seems to have taken to the hills now, but I am still looking at it.

"Now that I have got the big bit of land away with the steakhouse, I am not in a desperate rush to sort the other land, but I will do it as quickly as I can find somebody who wants to take it.

"If not, I will make my own planning application for something."

Mitchells and Butlers has formally submitted its steakhouse plan with Ashford Borough Council.

The two-storey building, which would feature toilets and staff facilities above the restaurant, would be built at a slight angle facing traffic travelling into Ashford from Kennington.

Mr Gillam does not own the rest of the former Houchin playing field site, which was used by company employees for many years.

To view the steakhouse plans, visit www.ashford.gov.uk and search for the 18/00161/AS application.