Ed Sheeran has applied to construct a crypt under the floor of a chapel on his estate in East Anglia.

The singer-songwriter, who was Spotify’s second-most streamed artist of the 2010s behind Drake, gained approval to build the “private place of retreat for contemplation and prayer” in 2019 on his Suffolk estate, which is worth an estimated £3.7m.

A further application seeks permission for a crypt in the nave of the chapel. The crypt – typically a burial chamber under the floor of a church – would be a 1.8 by 2.7 metre “burial zone beneath (penetration through slab)” on the chapel’s ground floor.

The application was filed to East Suffolk council in December and is awaiting a decision. The chapel will be flint-lined and feature a spiral-stair tower, lead roof and stained-glass windows.

Sheeran, 30, has sparked controversy with his Suffolk estate, which is nicknamed “Sheeranville” by some and features a collection of properties, pub, gym and wildlife pond. It is near the town of Framlingham and close to where Sheeran grew up.

Sheeran has hit headlines with reports of planning disputes with neighbours, including an incident in which a resident said the “wildlife pond” was a swimming pool.

Sheeran rejects this characterisation. He lives on the estate with his wife, Cherry Seaborn, and their daughter, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, who was born in 2020.

According to the 2019 planning application for the chapel, people from around the world visit Sheeran’s estate. “Many of these people are from many countries, faiths and customs, including for example the USA, Ireland, Ghana, Nigeria, Asia and Australia,” it said.