A major step has been taken towards the opening of a new dance studio in Kingswinford after council planners approved a change of use application for a unit on Dawley Trading Estate.
The not-for-profit En Pointe Academy will transform the currently vacant industrial unit into a dedicated space for training children and young people aged between two and 18 in dance, performing arts, and physical activity.
Supporting the application, a statement from G.H. Design highlighted the importance of the development: “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.”
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The academy plans to offer group classes accommodating up to 25 students, primarily during term time from Monday to Thursday evenings until 9pm, as well as on Saturday mornings.
Council planning officers noted the practical benefits of the move: “En Pointe Academy currently operates across five separate venues but that this arrangement has become impractical and unsustainable, making a dedicated premises essential for continued growth.”
In a separate planning decision, Dudley Council has issued a lawful development certificate for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) at Wellington Road, Dudley, for six residents.
The applicant provided evidence that the HMO had been operating since May 2023, prior to the council’s direction under article four of the Town and Country Planning Act, which removed permitted development rights allowing a change of use from a dwelling house to an HMO.
Planning officers confirmed that the evidence showed, on the balance of probability, that the property was in use as an HMO before the article four directive took effect. They stated: “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. 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.”