A national pub chain's plans to open up in a Norfolk town have moved a step closer to fruition after a planning application was submitted for a restaurant.

Joe Darrell, landowner of Kings Head Yard in Diss, has applied to South Norfolk Council for permission to build a restaurant, which will accommodate a new 6,000sq ft J D Wetherspoon pub serving food and drink and potentially creating between 40 and 50 new jobs within the town.

He secured planning permission for the restaurant four years ago, but has had to resubmit the plans because the latest scheme will be slightly bigger than the proposal which secured the original permission.

Approval is also needed for a mezzanine floor which will divide the interior of the restaurant into two levels with a dining area on each level within the two storey building.

The restaurant will be sited in an existing car park at Kings Head Yard and will feature French doors leading to an outdoor paved area with views of the Mere, while on the Mezzanine floor there will also be French doors which will open to provide views outside.

In November, Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said the Kings Head, as it will be known, was being opened because Diss was a busy market town which would suit the Wetherspoon chain.

He added: 'From our point of view, Diss is a good town, it is a good market town and a busy town and we feel it will suit our type of pub. We think it will be just as successful in Diss as the pubs we have elsewhere.'

He said the company would want to be part of the mix of pubs in the town to increase competition and the decision on whether to open in Diss was based more on the level of customer demand rather than what other publicans thought of the plans.

The plans are due to be discussed by the council's development management committee in the New Year.