Dance studio moves a step closer to new premises

A dance studio is a step closer to opening after council planners approved a move to new premises.

Officers have said yes to an application for the change of use at a unit on Dawley Trading Estate in Kingswinford to accommodate the not-for-profit En Pointe Academy.

The currently vacant unit will be repurposed to provide facilities for training people aged from two to 18 in dance, performing arts and physical activity.

A statement from G.H. Design in support of the application said: “The proposal will provide a permanent home for a not-for-profit organisation that supports over 100 local children and young people, promotes participation in the performing arts and physical activity, and enables students to continue representing both the local community and England at national and international level.”

The studio will operate group classes up to a maximum of 25 students primarily during term time from Monday to Thursdays no later than 9pm and on Saturday mornings.

A report from council planners on the application said: “The application is supported by a Design and Access Statement which states that En Pointe Academy currently operates across five separate venues but that this arrangement has become impractical and unsustainable.”

Dudley Council planners have also approved a lawful development certificate for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) for six residents in Wellington Road, Dudley.

The applicant told officers the HMO had been operating since May 2023, before the authority made a direction under article four of the Town and Country Planning Act removing permitted development rights which allowed a change of use from a dwelling house to an HMO.

The applicant submitted evidence to support their claim the HMO was operating before the article four ruling took effect.

A report from planning officers on the application said: “The local planning authority is not concerned with the merits of the development, but only whether a legal case is made for the use and operation to be considered as lawful development. 

“The submitted information demonstrates on the balance of probability, that the application site was in use as a house of multiple occupation prior to the implementation of the council’s article four direction.

“As such, it has been satisfactorily demonstrated that a lawful change of use occurred prior to this date, and the certificate of lawfulness can, therefore, be granted.”