Plans to build a new cheese production unit will create 35 jobs and double the business capacity, according to a fast-growing county food business.

Dairy Partners Ltd has submitted a planning application to Stroud District Council asking for permission to build a two-storey production unit with car parking, new road access and loading yard on a land adjacent to Oldends Lane at Stroudwater Business Park.

Dairy Partners said it urgently needed to expand to meet demand and its existing site on the business park is now operating at capacity.

It has acquired the land with the intention of building a new cheese production facility, warehouse and offices designed to double its current capacity.

The site, currently used for agricultural purposes, was previously granted planning permission in July 2015 for a production unit.

Dairy Partners was founded in 1999 and specialises in the manufacture and supply of mozzarella cheese to the domestic and export foodservice markets.

It has a turnover of £80m and employs 160 staff across two sites, in Stonehouse and in Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire.

In its report submitted to Stroud District Council in support of its planning application, Dairy Partners said: "The business has doubled its turnover in the last five years and is continuing to see an increase in demand for their products particularly from the Asian markets as they develop a taste for Western food."

Its report explains the existing Stroudwater Business Park site is now operating at capacity and the expansion.

The proposal is designed to provide for the company's immediate, long term and urgent expansion requirement, said Dairy Partners.

"Not only will this provide job security to its existing employees, the business also expects to create an additional 35 positions," said the report, adding that the proposed site's location suitable for their present employees.

Vehicle and pedestrian access to the development will be from two new entrances formed off the Oldends Lane and Brunel Way.

The application, submitted to Stroud District Council in May, is awaiting the council's decision.