THOUSANDS of jobs will be created in the North-East if plans to replace Tall Trees complex in Yarm with a residential development get the go-ahead.

Owner Javed Majid wants to turn his nightclub and leisure centre into 350 luxury flats.

The two and three-bedroom apartments will have security systems, landscaped gardens, walkways, tennis courts, access to an underground car park and a free bus service to Yarm and other areas.

"This is going to be something fantastic," said Mr Majid, who has owned Tall Trees for 18 years.

"This will meet a need for top quality executive housing in the area and complement the ongoing development of Teesside."

"We have spent the past five years consulting with all the top advisors designers and architects to make this something you won't find anywhere else in the world, let alone Teesside.

Mr Majid has submitted an outline planning application to Stockton Council. If it is accepted, work is expected to take about five years.

Under the plans, the hotel will be extended with 120 more rooms and a new reception area. It will feature a wall of glass overlooking the woods that curve down Saltersgill Beck.

There will be new health and leisure facilities, business suites and apartments. Thousands of construction jobs are expected to be created if the project goes ahead and more once the complex is built.

Current leisure facilities and Club M will be pulled down, in about three to four years.