A £32 million scheme to create a new winery in the Kent countryside could be approved next week.

The country's biggest wine producer, Chapel Down hopes to relocate its major production facility from Tenterden to Canterbury Business Park off the A2 near Bridge, creating more than 400 jobs.

Now officers from Canterbury City Council have revealed they will recommend the scheme be approved when it goes before its planning committee on Tuesday.

They say its economic benefits and landscaping proposals outweigh the "relatively limited" affect on the surrounding Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the loss of prime farmland.

Natural England, however, has lodged an objection, commenting: "There is no national need for this nor are there any exceptional circumstances which would justify the harm to the AONB."

But the scheme is considerably reduced from the one originally proposed by bosses at Canterbury Business Park, who have submitted the application.

They had also wanted to create an "rural employment hub" with numerous further warehousing and light industrial buildings covering an area of 21,250 sq m.

With that element now removed from the proposal, planning officers believe it can go ahead.

Now the scheme submitted is for an 11,900 sq m winery, plus two new buildings totalling 8,000 sqm in floor area, to provide warehousing for both Chapel Down and Defined Wine.

The latter is another wine producer that already operates from existing premises on the Canterbury Business Park.

The applicant says that, if approved, the winery will take two years to build and create 260 construction jobs.

Chapel Down is expected to retain its base in Tenterden where it has visitor facilities.

The award-winning company has just reported that 2022 was its most successful year with more than a 50% growth in operating profit and needs to upscale production.

Bosses say they have ambitions to be "bigger than Moet" in the UK with its sparkling wines.