A plan for a 248 berth marina at Lower Foxhangers Farm, near Rowde, has been submitted to Wiltshire Council.

The marina would be built on 13 acres of agricultural land next to the existing small marina, campsite and self catering homes, run by Colin and Cynthia Fletcher that will continue to operate.

Mr and Mrs Fletcher own the 13 acres but MHJ Ltd, of Guildford, has submitted the planning application. It is a holding company for Land and Water Estates, also based in Guildford, which has built 16 marinas, including two of their own.

Neil Warren of Land and Water Estates said a marina for casual boaters was much needed in the Devizes area.

He said: “The marina development will help underpin the increased use of the Kennet and Avon Canal and be a catalyst for the increased tourism in this part of WIltshire.

“Lower Foxhangers is a great spot for a marina and there is such demand on the canal which is unfed at the moment.”

He said the Kennet and Avon was the third most used canal by boaters in the country and said that British Waterways needed 11,700 new berths across the network by 2015. He also said Devizes, Hilperton, Bradford on Avon and Bath marinas were all full. The new marina would employ three full time and two part time employees.

The Lower Foxhangers site had planning permission for a marina dating back to the 1990s but the scheme was never implemented.

The Local Plan supports the development of off channel moorings on the canal between Martinslade and Upper Foxhangers.

Alice Boyd, chairman of the Devizes branch of the Kennet and Avon Canal, said she thought members would welcome the proposal.

She said: “The canal is desperately in need of mooring space to provide for the ever increasing number of boaters.”

A spokesman for British Waterways could not comment on the specific plan but said: “British Waterways is in support of creating more offline moorings. The Kennet and Avon Canal continues to be very popular”

Rowde Parish Council is to arrange a special meeting to discuss the plan.