Floating homes, a marina and a nature reserve could be coming to a coveted and historic riverside site in Surbiton.

The pontoon, which would host homes and a 90-berth marina, is proposed for the filter beds in Seething Wells – the area that proved cholera was a waterborne disease in the mid-1800s.

The plans, which also envisage a restaurant, a nature reserve and recreation ground, were published by Hydro Properties, a subsidiary of GHP Real Estate, on its website.

Floating technology is used in the Netherlands, where houses rise if rivers burst their banks, and in Dubai.

However, the Surbiton site is Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), so is protected from inappropriate development.

A spokesman for GHP said the plans were at an early stage, no conversations had taken place with the planning authority and the site may yet prove unsuitable.

However, Edward Davey MP for Kingston and Surbiton, who has helped fight previous applications on the land, opposed the plan.

Referring to previous applications, he said: “I spent hours on this and held campaign meeting after campaign meeting and we beat the developers totally and utterly.

“Given that and the planning inspector reports, I thought the land had complete and utter protection.”

Thames Water sold the site to developers last year.

A Kingston Council spokesman said the proposed residential scheme would be difficult to justify given the sensitive location of the site.

He said: “The council was approached in November 2009 regarding a proposal for the redevelopment of the Surbiton filter beds site for residential moorings along the river and floating homes on the former filter beds.

“The site has significant environmental constraints in terms of its setting to the riverside south and Hampton Court conservation areas and the conservation value of the site for wildlife.”

A GHP spokesman said the company was interested in Kingston because the area had a high flood risk.

He said: “A relatively small number of floating homes would prove the technology, contribute in a small but measurable way to reducing flooding in Kingston town centre and bring lots of local benefits such as improved nature conservation and public access to a currently closed riverside site.

“If GHP were to proceed with a scheme it would only be after full consultation with the community.”