Major plans to completely overhaul a “derelict” garden centre more than five years after it shut have been revealed.

The West Wycombe Estate wants to turn the former Plant and Harvest garden centre on Chorley Road West into a “sanctuary” for people to visit – complete with an education centre, water and show gardens and a restaurant.

According to plans submitted to Wycombe District Council last week, West Wycombe Estate said the garden centre will be a “family-centred destination involving local people as growers, members of staff and customers – creating a real community hub that welcomes schools, clubs and other groups is very much top of the agenda”.

West Wycombe Garden Centre shut its doors in 2014 – and plans suggest the last three owners of the centre were unable to establish a “viable” business there for a number of reasons – including the poor state of the site, the kitchen being condemned, a lack of security and a lack of accessibility for wheelchair users.

In a bid to make the centre a success this time round, managers would like to “experiment” with opening the restaurant in the evenings and there could be functions held there on occasion.

The centre will also be wheelchair friendly – with five disabled parking spaces and enlarged gates.

Three new greenhouses would be built with covered walkways linking all three with the main retail area so shoppers do not get wet when visiting.

The existing gardener’s cottage, which is at the heart of the site, will be the main restaurant and café area with toilets and staff offices.

And the centre’s car park – which has space for about 150 cars – will still be available to use for visitors to West Wycombe.

The planning documents say: “The existing car park will continue to run for the benefit of all local users. Whether those users be teachers at the local primary school, parents dropping or collecting their children to and from school, commuters to the local businesses, walkers, visitors to the Hellfire Caves or other village attractions and customers of the gardens, they will all be welcome.”

The plans will be decided by Wycombe District Council. The garden centre site is in the Green Belt and AONB.

The applicants say the centre’s historic walled garden is a “central feature” of the village – and its “current neglect has a detrimental impact both on views of it from outside the boundary wall but to the attractiveness of West Wycombe itself.”