Bosses at the Copper Rivet Distillery at Chatham Maritime have applied for planning permission to build a cafe.

They want to change the former engine pumping room and adjoining land to a cafe delicatessen.

Plans include the removal of machinery at the site and bosses also want to refurbish the windows and doors and install partitions, raised floors, stairs and toilets in the building.

The distillery sits inside Pump House No. 5, a Victorian building that was used to pump water out of the dry docks, and is one of the last dockyard buildings to be brought back into use.

The craft distillery will produce premium gin, whisky and vodka for both the UK and international markets.

It is one of just a few in the country which will undertake the complete process of brewing and distilling from grain to glass.

The distillery will create eight full-time and four part-time jobs and the team will source everything they can from around the county including local elderflower for gin botanicals, the grains used in their spirits will come from Burden Bros on the Isle of Sheppey, and spirit stills wrought and built by craftsmen in Chatham.

It is due to open to visitors for tours, the week commencing September 12, according to a post on its Facebook page.