Plans to transform hair salon into music academy

Stoked Academy Ltd plans to team up with Total Fitness gym in Middlesbrough Road to set up its base

Plans to transform a former hair salon into a music academy are to be considered by the council.

Stoked Academy Ltd has applied to create a base for acting, singing and dancing lessons, film-making, and podcast recording in the former Total Hair & Beauty salon on Middlesbrough Road, Stockton.

Under the plans, the facility would be run by up to five full-time staff, with more than 40 students already enrolled and a waiting list, according to a supporting statement.

A planning report said the developer plans to team up with Total Fitness gym, also on the site, to set up a base for the business. Details of the scheme have been sent to Stockton Council.

The Total Hair and Beauty Salon was vacated in September 2024.

Agent Fahim Farooqui, from Total Planning Solutions, said the applicant behind the music academy proposal had "20 years of teaching knowledge in this profession" and had used various premises in the borough over the years, but had not found any permanent residency, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said the applicant and gym operators had considered the financial viability of the new business, based on footfall from the gym and parents using a nearby nursery.

Mr Farooqui suggested parents "could utilise the facilities of the music academy whilst using both existing uses, ie. gym and creche, as a total package - which in turn increases the longevity and viability of the gym itself in this current economic climate".

Proposed opening times between 10am and 10pm, seven days a week, are said to mirror the gym’s current hours.