An outdoor cinema company with the financial backing of movie giant Sony will significantly expand if plans for a new Kent base are approved.

Developers say a bid to open a warehouse for Luna Cinema on a proposed business park in Dargate, near Faversham, will create 50 full-time jobs.

The site in question is a 2.5-acre grassy paddock off the Thanet Way encircled by Highstreet Road and the Plumpudding Lane bridge.

Originally, George Wilson Developments wanted to build a McDonald’s on the plot - but the drive-thru vision was later shelved following strong backlash from surrounding villagers.

The proposals were pulled three months ago, but a revised application - minus the McDonald’s - is now in the hands of Swale Borough Council.

A warehouse for Luna Cinema - currently based in Sittingbourne - is set to be the flagship unit at the site between Whitstable and Faversham.

It will house giant screens and be used as a distribution centre.

The company, which is majority-owned by industry giant Sony, prides itself on being the “country’s leading producer of open-air cinema events” - hosting screenings at locations such as Leeds Castle.

Meanwhile, IT company The Change Organisation, which has had a long-term presence in Whitstable, also wants to call the Dargate site home.

Another unit is also proposed, but the tenant is not known.

Planning papers state: “Luna Cinema will provide 50 full-time jobs and the other two plots are expected to provide a further 60 jobs between them.

“Overall the proposed site will provide in the region of 120 jobs, with further jobs to be created by the development of the remainder of the site in the future.

“On top of this the development will provide additional non-domestic rates income to the borough council.”

Josh Wilson, who works for George Wilson Developments, added: “Luna is now majority-owned by Sony so they’ve blown up in terms of expanding.

“They need new and bigger premises and this site can accommodate that."

Mr Wilson says it is an ideal spot for a business park due to its proximity to the Thanet Way.

However, villager Jacqueline Warden has objected, stating: “We do not need more industrial units in Dargate.

"There is already a large number of units under construction on the opposite side of the Thanet Way.”