AN auction mart could become a tourist attraction and learning centre as part of a £5m plan.
Hawes Auction Mart, in North Yorkshire, would include a caf, theatre, sales and exhibition areas and sports facilities as part of a planned redevelopment.
Maurice Hall, general manager of the mart, said: "The plan is to diversify in these times of difficulty for the agricultural sector.
"We are trying to provide other services to the rural population of the upper dales.
"At the same time, we will not take our eye off what we are here to do - serve the local farming community."
The facilities will be housed in a multi-purpose building, replacing the mart office and farmland to the east of the site.
A planning application for the Burtersett Road site has been submitted to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
If this first application is approved, as recommended by planning officers at a meeting on Tuesday, further plans will be submitted for an interpretation centre.
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