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05
Mar

A Pilates studio near Ripon that opened over a year ago is seeking retrospective planning permission.
Four garages were converted in November 2024 to create Thrive Studio at Manor Farm, Hutton Conyers.
The venue, which provides mat and reformer Pilates, operates from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to noon on Saturdays.
A design and access statement submitted in support of the application to North Yorkshire Council says the conversion was undertaken “to meet a local need for wellbeing and fitness facilities”.
It adds:
The applicant was visited by a planning officer from North Yorkshire Council earlier this month and was correctly advised that planning permission is required for the material change of use. This application seeks to regularise the current use, demonstrating that the development is low-impact, sustainable, and complies with the relevant local and national planning policies.
The statement says the development repurposes an existing building without encroaching on to open countryside and “fully aligns with the National Planning Policy Framework and North Yorkshire Council policies that seek to protect the character of the countryside and villages”.
Having 10 customer parking spaces “prevents any on-street parking pressure along Athelstan Lane”, it adds.
The planning application was marked as “withdrawn” on the council’s website this week.
Asked by the Stray Ferret why the application was withdrawn and what it means for the business, studio owner Mel Davey said on Monday (March 2):
Although we have withdrawn the initial application, we have submitted another application today with some slight amendments. There is nothing more to say at this stage as the business continues as normal.
Ms Davey describes Thrive as “Ripon’s only reformer Pilates studio”.
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