Councillors went along with a recommendation to allow change of use planning permission for the husband and wife’s 1-1 fitness venture in Stonegate

00:01, 22 Mar 2026Updated 10:42, 22 Mar 2026

(Image: Getty Images)

Councillors have unanimously approved a couple’s plans to use a domestic garage as a gym for personal trainer fitness sessions. The plans for a property in Stonedale, Skelton, a cul-de-sac, attracted several objections from nearby residents who said it was an unsuitable location for such an endeavour.

The objections lodged with Redcar and Cleveland Council expressed concern about “multiple daily visitors” causing traffic and parking problems. The application was heard by the council’s regulatory committee with members going along with a recommendation to approve the change of use required.

The applicants and property owners, a husband and wife, are both personal trainers and intend to run 1-2-1 fitness sessions for their clients, councillors were told. It was pointed out that there would be “no loud music” or group sessions and “ample parking” was provided within the curtilage of the property, a large detached home.

Support was received for the application with comments received by the local planning authority from members of the public including “small businesses should be encouraged”, “no reason to refuse”, and it “would not cause any disturbance”. A council officer’s report said a french door had been added to the side of the double garage for easier access, for which retrospective planning permission was also sought.

It said: “The garage has internal access to the property and has been converted internally to create a room. These works have already taken place.”

The council’s development engineers said the property benefitted from a turning area for vehicles and they had no objection to the change of use in planning terms.

The council officer in determining the view taken on the application said there were no adverse impacts on the appearance and character of the surrounding area, nor were there any issues in terms of overlooking or privacy.

In terms of noise, it would be similar to if the property owners wanted to use the garage as a gym for their own personal use, which would not require planning permission.

The report said: ”In terms of comings and goings from the property, it is important to note that the dwelling is a large five bedroomed detached dwelling which could be occupied by a large family resulting in comings and goings throughout the day which would be unrestricted, both in number of journeys and timings of the journeys.

“Subject to a condition limiting the number of clients per week and hours of operation the proposed use would not result in an adverse impact on neighbour amenity through disturbance above the level of activity generated by a large family home.”

Referring to parking and highway safety, the report said: “The property includes a large driveway to the front of the property which can provide parking for a number of vehicles. The driveway has been extended from when the property was first constructed to allow for more in-curtilage parking.”

No issues were also raised either in this category. The report also said comments received throughout the consultation period had been noted, however the proposal was considered acceptable in relation to planning matters.

Conditions were imposed on planning permission, including operational hours not extending beyond Monday to Friday 6am to 8pm and Saturdays 9am to 4pm. The approved use for 1-2-1 personal training sessions should also not exceed more than 40 sessions per week.

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