Ashford’s state-of-the-art brewery is set to open no later than April next year, it has been announced.

Bosses at Chapel Down winery in Tenterden are building the £1.3 million centre on wasteland off Victoria Road for the company’s Curious Drinks beer brand.

They completed the purchase of the 1.6-acre site in October and have started construction.

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Speaking at a Kent B2B event at the Ashford International Hotel, Chapel Down chief executive Frazer Thompson said the site will become an "icon".

“What the brewery will give is a sense of real local pride to people in the area,” he said.

“It’s something other people don’t have and now is the time to really go for it.

“We’re looking forward to building a new icon that locals can be proud about.

“Construction won’t be loud or noisy, and it’ll be right next to a station so it’s an ideal development for the centre of Ashford.”

The site was given planning approval in August 2016 as part of a multi-million-pound regeneration scheme that also includes an Aldi supermarket, a hotel and a seven-storey block of 200 flats.

The brewery, which will run tours and is expected to become a major tourist attraction, will sit next to the German discount store, which is due to open this summer.

The development is expected to create 160 full-time jobs, plus more than 50 jobs in the supply chain.