A Yarm nightclub owner could hear today whether he can go ahead with his plan to build a family burial ground at his farmhouse.

Mr Javid Majid owns the Tall Trees hotel where the fashionable and nationally-renowned Club M is held.

He has applied to Stockton council for permission to build the burial plot on land at Mount Leven Farm, between Yarm and Ingleby Barwick.

Planning officers and councillors were expected to visit the farm yesterday and the matter will be debated today by the authority's planning committee.

Planning officer, Mrs Carol Straughan, said the application met the necessary guidelines. She understood there were no special religious reasons behind Mr Jahid's application.

"The applicant wants to provide for family burials. Anyone can bury members of their family on their land if they meet certain criteria and have enough space.

"They do not need planning permission for head stones and there are no details about any tombs.

"The farm is on the top of a bank above the River Leven. We have had five letters of objection from residents in Ingleby Barwick," she said.

Objectors had raised concerns about the alleged visual impact of the site and asked for further details on its size, use and traffic to it.

The site is about 350-400m yards away from the nearest houses.

Mr Majid said the burial site would be small and unobtrusive, and has sought to reassure residents that there would be no growth in traffic.

He has also submitted a plan to build a house at the Mount Leven Farm site.