Plans for a new restaurant and bar in Whitstable Harbour have been revealed.

The site, which will specialise in local produce and promote the town’s world-famous oysters, will be built on the South Quay in the former engine room.

A full planning application is yet to be submitted but the harbour board has already handed the contract to the Whitstable Oyster Company following a tender process.

“The South Quay site will be open year round, providing an attraction and creating four full-time and 10 part-time jobs, while promoting local produce,” a company spokesman said.

“Now that this proposal has been chosen by the harbour board for the former engine shed site, we will look to put a planning application into Canterbury City Council within six weeks.

“The plans are being drawn up by the respected Canterbury architects Lee Evans and, if approved, work on the site will start late in the year, when it is quiet in the harbour, with a view to open for the early spring of next year.”

The building will include an educational area to inform people of Whitstable’s oyster heritage.

It will use recycled steel sea containers as the base building block, with colour finishes and materials reflecting the look of the rest of the harbour.

“It will provide an attraction and jobs in the harbour area throughout the year,” the spokesman added.

“The design is a modern approach to complement the harbour’s strategic review for the area. It will provide an asset to the town, while reflecting the harbour’s commercial history.

Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies says the project will enhance the harbour.

He said: “The Whitstable Oyster Company’s proposal was accepted after an open and transparent tendering process that was based on the harbour board’s strategic plan and attracted bids from a range of organisations.

“It was felt a year-round facility promoting local fish and shellfish, selling Kentish foods and promoting the area’s heritage and culture would add to what the harbour has to offer its visitors.”