THE Countess of Wessex will visit Bedgebury Pinetum near Goudhurst next month to help launch a new development project.

Sophie Rhys-Jones will plant a tree to mark the start of the landscaping phase of a multi-million pound scheme to provide a new visitor and education centre.

Work on phase one began last June with engineers digging out a large new lake. Buildings should be put up in spring next year and the whole project is anticipated to be complete by next autumn, at a cost of £3m.

The Countess will plant the first tree in the company of the chairman of the Friends of Bedgebury, Gerald Williams, on Tuesday, October 15 at 3.15pm.

The Countess is a regular visitor to the pinetum which was set up in 1925 to help safeguard the future of hundreds of species of rare and endangered conifer.