Plans for an ambitious new development which will include luxury homes, a rocking horse museum, a cafe and farm shop have been unveiled.

The two-pronged scheme between Ashford and Tenterden will also see a landmark building demolished and replaced by flats.

Planning applications submitted by architects Hollaway on behalf of the Stevenson Brothers show the firm's plans to establish a new base of operations near High Halden.

The company, which has been making bespoke rocking horses for four decades, currently works out of a workshop alongside the A28 Ashford Road in Bethersden.

However, planning forms reveal the twin brothers – Marc and Tony – are looking to "upgrade and modernise" the business by moving into a new building.

This new site would be constructed on former garage buildings off Ashford Road, alongside Linden Farms, and would see a new workshop, museum and "rocking horse hospital" built.

The plans would also see a tree-lined development of 22 "executive" homes built on fields behind the new building.

Consisting of three different types of four-and-five-bedroom homes, the development will feature "contemporary farmstead designs" with exposed brick, black timber, and slate "to match similar buildings in the surrounding area," according to the application.

"Ponds, pathways, and cycle links will open up a previously inaccessible public right of way to allow the local community to fully enjoy the space," it added.

To cater for the additional homes and those surrounding the new development, the museum building will also include a farm shop and café.

Construction is aimed to be completed in 2025, at which point the company will move in and the current site in Bethersden will be demolished and remade into nine flats.

The building, which will be a near-identical remake with white weatherboard and the same rocking horse top that the current building displays, will be used for social and affordable housing.

It will consist of seven one-bed apartments, one two-bed and one accessible flat.

Guy Hollaway, principal partner at Hollaway, said the project was "all about community".

"The design of the new Stevenson Brothers’ workshop and museum actively encourages members of the public to engage in the creative process of these world-renowned rocking horses," he added.

"Whilst gaining a rare insight into the craftsmanship of Stevenson rocking horses, members of the public will also be able to visit the farm shop, café and courtyard which will become a rural destination and meeting place.’’

Marc Stevenson added: “When we first started to make rocking horses over 40 years ago we had three goals: to re-introduce the rocking horse and make them popular again, to make the best rocking horses in the world and to inspire people to discover their own creativity.

"It’s been an honour making rocking horses for Queen Elizabeth II for the past twenty years.”

The twin brothers set up their company 40 years ago, after being inspired by their father and uncle, who were shipwrights in the Chatham Dockyard.

Born in Malta and moving to Kenya in the 1950’s, they eventually launched the company on their birthday, October 20.

Since then, they have made rocking horses for celebrities and royalty, most recently presenting the late Queen Elizabeth II with a personalised horse for her Jubilee.The two planning applications for the Bethersden and High Halden developments were submitted earlier this month, and can be viewed on the Ashford Borough Council website.