A planning inquiry to decide whether a Muslim funeral building should built next to a north Farnham church will begin next week.

The Ismaili Trust turned to the planning inspector after their bid to construct a large funeral building next to St John’s Church was rejected by Waverley Borough Council.

And a date has now been confirmed with an appeal hearing set to begin at the WBC planning chamber next Tuesday, December 17.

Planners gave the green light in 2010 for a low impact woodland burial site on the Farnham Park Cemetery site off Hale Road where the Ismali Trust are keen to build.

But plans for the building – which include a room for body preparation – were rejected amid concerns about the possible lack of community use, given most of its users would be from London.

The inquiry, which will be live-streamed on YouTube, will start at 10am with further sessions on December 18 and 19, followed by three more from January 14 to 16.