A major winery, visitor centre and hotel development has been given the green light.

Plans to transform Wildshark Vineyard in Harrietsham, near Maidstone, into a tourist attraction have been approved.

The Elite Pubs venture opened last year and has around 98,000 vines already planted across 42 hectares in the village’s countryside, off the A20.

It is hoped they may produce 150 tonnes of five different grapes, including Bacchus, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris.

But under plans lodged to Maidstone council last year, wine could be bottled, tasted and sold all in one place.

The scheme comes after the founder of the chain, Martial Chaussy, purchased Mount Farm next door, which sits between the railway line and the M20.

Parts of the brownfield site features are currently used as a breakers yard, for commercial vehicle repairs, by a scaffold company, and a skip hire and waste disposal business.

It is home to a farmhouse, which will be kept, and five commercial buildings.

The latter are set to be demolished to make way for the erection of two new buildings, which would serve as a winery and visitor centre.

The winery will process the grapes into wine, including fermentation with mixing tanks, with bottling and ageing processes to take place.

It will consist of three levels, with about half of it below ground, and will include a laboratory for testing the grapes, a staff room and a kitchenette.

The visitor centre would offer a shop, tasting room, restaurant and toilets.

The single-storey building would feature a “minimalist contemporary” design with a sloping roof and solar panels.

Meanwhile, the farmhouse is set to be extended and converted into a 19-bed hotel.

The number of car parking spaces will increase from 30 to 103, while the number of light vehicle spaces will decrease from 20 to three.

It is estimated that the new facilities will employ 29 full-time and eight part-time workers.

During a Maidstone planning meeting held on Thursday (September 18), the application was granted permission, but with conditions.

Cllr John Perry (Con) said: “I strongly support this application, actually, for one particular reason - it is very important for the local economy.

“The rural economy is very important and viticulture plays a very big part in it, in my own ward I’ve got a major winery and I know what is involved.

“I don’t think it is all industrialisation because wineries have to be in the country, but what is important for me is that it is a major employer. It provides jobs for local people.”

Cllr Dennis Spooner (Con) added: “I congratulate the way the applicants have negotiated with the [planning] officers, and I think they’ve come up with a damn good scheme.

“It increases employment, it increases wine production in Kent. It’s all part of the rural diversification of the countryside, which we need.”

Mr Chaussy, 53, founded the Elite Pub chain in 2003, which currently has 14 pubs across Kent and Sussex, including The Herbalist in Maidstone and the Potting Shed at Langley.

His application had been supported by Wine Garden of England, a co-operative of nine existing vineyards, which said: “We understand the value of wine tourism.

“Kent is the most exciting region for the English wine industry, and the wine tourism that the county offers is good for the wine industry and the wider tourism economy.

“The vineyard on this plot is on arguably the best site in the country, and as such will produce the best quality fruit, with the potential for the best quality wine.

“This means that a high-quality visitor centre and accommodation is the natural addition to the estate.”