From beloved hairdressers' to 'premium kebabs': Contentious plan leads to new takeaway

A kebab shop is set to open at the former home of a much-loved hairdressers' following a controversial plan to change its use.

A sign saying "coming soon spread the word" went up at the property at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Thornaby. It is now "Big Shawarmz - Premium Authentic Kebabs".

It used to be the Jalz hair salon. But its owner Proudreed Real Estate applied for permission to change its use to a takeaway, describing it as a "vacant unit".

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Objectors spoke up for the business in a meeting of Stockton Council's planning committee in March last year. They said boss Allan Iveson had "put his life" into the hairdressers', describing it as "a Thornaby institution and a thriving business which has been trading and paying into the local economy for over 45 years".

They argued the plan would be "one of the worst decisions the local council could make" and a takeaway would be "an insult to Thornaby and a total eyesore". Council officers recommended approving the plan.

It was given the go-ahead by a 4-3 vote as councillors on the committee said they did not like it and it was "flaming well wrong", but could not find a good reason to refuse it. Mr Iveson, who opened the original store in Thornaby town centre in 1978, when he was 21, before moving to the Pavilion and spending more than £100,000 converting an empty shell in 2008, said he was "heartbroken" when he said goodbye to his staff and closed his doors for the last time in November.

He said at the time: "It's hard to put into words how I am feeling right now with the continuous wave of emotions. 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."

Proudreed Real Estate has been contacted for a comment.

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