An £8.5 million sports village project has been launched by Ashford Town Football Club owners Don Crosbie and Tony Betteridge.

The project aims to develop a community orientated sports village at the Homelands Stadium site just outside Ashford.

It will provide a new stadium for the football club with offices, banqueting and conference facities and a gymnasium along with all-weather training pitches and an indoor tennis facitity.

Part of the plan is also a budget hotel with the aim of establishing a self sustaining revenue stream for Ashford football club in the drive for Conference football.

The new plans are due to go before Ashford Council and if approved the new complex could be operational inside two years.

The scheme will be financed by Ashford Town's owners with support from a couple of major sponsors.

The club also announced that locally-based national food supplier Brakes would be taking over as the club's main sponsors next season with Mandave Project Interiors and Sirtcom supporting the reserves.