The owner of a dance business says it has grown so much they now need to look for a permanent studio.
Mary Bowdery, the owner of The Starlight Boutique, is looking to have a full-time dance space in a unit at Barry Way, Newport Business Park.
The industrial unit, which houses tenants DW Support Services, a property maintenance firm, is said to be vacant by the end of the month.
Transformed to hold two dance and ballet studios
According to planning documents submitted to the Isle of Wight Council, the storage and office space could be transformed to hold two dance studios with another dedicated ballet studio on the first floor.
The dance and gymnastics academy has been running for over nine years and says establishing a permanent base with specific studios is the ‘next natural progression to becoming the Island’s largest dance and gymnastics hub’.
Over 300 students
The business has grown steadily year on year, starting with 14 students and increasing to more than 300 and provides classes for students of all levels and ages, ranging from toddlers to adults,
No external changes will be made to the space apart from adding a cycle rack to encourage active travel.
Agent for the application, Holbrook Architectural Services, say the unit is ideal for the business.
Concerns over parking
Island Roads has said parking around the area, with a number of other businesses nearby, maybe a cause for concern as parking is at a premium during normal working hours.
While the class times are not yet known, the highways authority said later classes and those on weekends should not be an issue, but with midweek and morning sessions, depending on the uptake of patrons, there may not be sufficient parking as the unit only has five allocated bays.
To view the plans, 21/00763/FUL you can visit the council’s planning register. Comments will be accepted until 24th May.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
Image: dancewearcentral under CC BY 2.0
