The grounds of Cromford's Willersley Castle were designed by John Webb for mill-owner Sir Richard Arkwright and are now protected by the Historic Parks and Gardens Register.

The Christian Guild, which runs the grade II listed building as a hotel, plans to create a level patio area on the sloped lawn at the front of the house.

But the plans, which are due to be discussed at a Derbyshire Dales District Council meeting on Tuesday, have been recommended for refusal by planning officers who feel it could harm the look of the historic grounds and the "iconic" views.

A report, which has been produced for planning committee members, states: "The proposed terrace is considered in terms of its scale to be domestic in nature and therefore visually incompatible and inappropriate to the scale and importance of this elevation of the castle.

"The introduction of this terrace onto the broad area of lawn will be visually prominent and therefore will be fundamentally harmful to the setting of this grade II listed building."

Objections to the plans have also been made by the Conservation Advisory Forum which claims the terrace would be "visually uncomfortable" and "detrimental" to the setting of the listed building.

English Heritage has said the terrace would have an "unacceptable detrimental impact on the setting" while the Garden History Society, which promotes the conservation of historic parks, stated that Willersley Castle was a site of national importance.

But general manager of the hotel Tim Rogers said that the former outdoor seating area had to be moved after they improved wheelchair access and opened a disabled car park.

He said: "All we are trying to do is put in a paved seating area which will match the building. We wanted to put it on the front lawn area but we need to make it safe."

The plans are expected to be discussed at a district council planning meeting at Matlock Town Hall on Tuesday from 6pm.