A DANCE school which has been operating for more than 30 years has been given the go-ahead to expand into a former veterinary practice next to its studios.

Louise Collie started her Dancercise Community School for Performing Arts in East Lothian in 1990, offering children and young people the chance to experience the arts.

Classes took place in schools and community halls, and the school is currently based at Newhailes Business Park, Musselburgh.

Now it has been granted a change of use for the adjacent unit to add more studios to the flourishing business.

A report by planners said that no objections to the proposals had been received.

And they said that the location of the dance studio, in a retail park with a shared car park, meant that the change of use of the vet's practice would not lead to a significant shift  in parking demands.

However, it said that talks with roads officers had led to revised plans being submitted by the dance studio to include disabled parking bays and cycle parking areas, after it was noted that neither were available in the car park in its current form.

Planning permission was granted for the change of use, with an additional condition that it would only be used as a dance and exercise studio “in the interests of the amenity and operation of neighbouring employment uses”.