Awaydays for businesses could soon involve a trip out to the countryside around Wroughton.

And then at weekends, the same place could be an attraction for families with a cafe and animals.

Douglas White, who farms at Overtown Farm south of Wroughton, has asked for planning permission from Swindon Borough Council to convert a barn on his land into a restaurant and cafe along with a meeting and conference venue.

He took a break from haymaking to tell the Adver: “The idea is that it’s a meeting venue in the week that offices and companies that need to come out for the day can come where and we’d cater for them.

"They’ll be able to come out to the beautiful countryside around here for their meeting or conference.

“And at weekends, it would be a cafe for visitors.”

Mr White hopes to attract passing trade visiting nearby Barbury Castle, a few miles south of the farm.

“We have our own beef herd and we have sheep as well, so we’d want to make that a feature – using our own produce in the cafe and restaurant.

“It might even be that we make the animals something of an attraction to get people to come out.

"This is all about diversification – doing something else along with the farming.”

The barn is on the far edge of the farm property, next to the main road running between Burderop and the iron age monument.

Mr White’s application says: “The existing entrance access to the site is directly opposite the entrance to the residential house Midge Hall.

“The building has been used only as an agricultural storage barn and continues to be such.”

The farmer is applying to be allowed to use it for a number of planning purposes: shops, financial and professional services, a restaurant and cafe, even a hotel or some other leisure use.

As the building is next to the road, the application says: “The traffic using the premises would mostly be private cars, with the exception of delivery vehicles.

"The delivery vehicles would be no larger or noisier than the farm vehicles and plant that currently use the access to Overtown Farm.

“A large proportion of the footfall for the restaurant and cafe would be from vehicles already making the journey to Barbury Castle.

"They would be making the journey irrespective of consent to change the use of the building.”

The plans are available to view on swindon.gov.uk.

Comments should be made by July 16.