Plans to turn the 57 acre New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) site into London’s premier food centre have been unveiled.

Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) announced it would submit an outline planning application for the Nine Elms site, providing 540,000 sq ft for its 240 tenant companies.

CGMA said the project would be financed by using land which houses the current Flower Market, which covers a 10 acre site, over to residential development.

Plans for the flower market site, which are being developed by Foster & Partners, would be residential and “take advantage of the excellent transport links at Vauxhall interchange and views of the river”, a CGMA spokesman said.

Baroness Brenda Dean, chairman of CGMA, said: ”’The Garden’ is an identity that acknowledges New Covent Garden Market’s heritage but also encompasses the future, as the centre for food and flowers in London.”

CGMA will host the first of two public exhibitions about the outline planning application in November 2009, with a second one following in early 2010 before the planning application is submitted later that year.

A CGMA spokeswoman said development of the site would be known as ‘The Garden at New Covent Garden Market’.

She said: “This will see the creation of a food centre for London including both the new Market development but also a whole raft of food and flower related activities on the site.”

She said ‘The Garden Heart’ would be the hub of the Market and house cafes, restaurants, education facilities or training rooms or possibly a retail market.