Hairdresser says planning rules 'snatch away 45 years of hard work'
A heartbroken salon owner has shut his 45-year-old business - after plans were agreed to turn the building into a takeaway. Hairdresser Allan Iveson found out last year that the unit in North Yorkshire would be converted by the owners.
Decades of hard work have now come to an end and he has handed over the keys to Jalz. Alan says a lifetime building up the business has been destroyed due to the "nightmare" planning situation.
He said: “To say that I am heartbroken is an understatement. This is a thriving business, built upon decades of hard work. It feels like a lifetime of work has just been snatched away from you - the kind of thing you wake up from following a nightmare - it's truly unbelievable.”
Allan opened the parlour in 1978 when he was 21 and moved to St Peter’s House in Thornaby near Middlesbrough in 2008.
Jalz Hair in Teeside has closed (Teesside Live WS)He spent more than £100,000 transforming the empty shell into a state-of-the-art salon with the comfort of a 15-year lease on the premises, reports TeesideLive. His long term aim was to eventually sell the business as a going concern upon retirement.
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But in early 2022 he learned from a customer that the property owner, Proudreed Ltd, had applied to Stockton Council for planning permission to convert the premises into a hot food takeaway.
Despite receiving a large number of objections to the plans, Stockton Council ’s planning committee gave Proudreed the go ahead. A spokesperson for Stockton Council confirmed: "It [the application] did go to the planning committee in March and it was approved."
They heard the new takeaway would bring custom in and create jobs. The proposal also fitted with both local and national planning policy. It would make positive use of a vacant unit and support the vitality and viability of the district centre.
In March, Allan’s solicitor submitted an application to renew the lease and sent several letters to Proudreed, but the solicitor claimed that by July there was still no response. Allan felt he had no choice but to end the uncertainty by asking his solicitor to inform Proudreed that Jalz Hair would cease trading and close when the lease came to an end in November.
He has bid an emotional farewell to his business as he closed his doors for the final time. He said: "My staff have been wonderful and my customers have been in tears as they have visited Jalz on their final appointments to say goodbye.
Allan added: “I would like to think that we have been much more than a salon in the 45 plus years here via offering a high-quality service, supporting local people, helping in the community, caring for my customers, and raising lots of money to help worthy local causes have all given me huge satisfaction on a personal level.
Allan has built up a friendship with TV star Crissy Rock, star of the ITV series Benidorm in which she plays Janey Yorke. Crissy has visited his salon through the years and helped Allan with his many charity drives to support the local community.
Crissy, the former I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star, also was on hand to cut the 40-year anniversary cake and to celebrate four decades with his staff and long-time customers in 2019.
In 2016, Gogglebox TV stars Sandra Martin and Sandi Channer arrived on Teesside to help Allan with a Thornaby community charity project. The Gogglebox duo were huge favourites of a customer through their period on the Channel 4 hit TV show.
Proudreed Ltd has been approached for comment.
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