Hartlepool beauty academy reopens after devastating Bonfire Night blaze

The LCG Beauty Academy, based in the Gemini Centre, in Villiers Street, Hartlepool town centre, had been open for just 11 months when it was forced to temporarily close after the overnight blaze in November last year.

The premises suffered smoke damage with the cause of the November 5 fire still under investigation.

It has now reopened, however, with bosses at Learning Curve Group (LCG), the training provider behind the academy, praising staff for their efforts since the setback.

Brenda McLeish, the chief executive of LCG, said: “We were all so heartbroken when we woke to the news that a small fire in the academy had caused so much devastation.

“The whole LCG team have worked tirelessly to get the academy back up and running and returned to the high quality both we and our learners expect and I’m extremely proud of them.”

The LCG Beauty Academy opened at the beginning of 2019.

The unit, near Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, had been left vacant for some time before LCG took on the lease and transformed it into a hub for the people of Hartlepool to come and develop new skills.

The academy continues to offer a range of level two and three diplomas including hair and media make-up, beauty therapy and nail technology for almost anybody.

Courses cover people who are not in any kind of education, employment or training to those who are employed and want to learn a new skill to potentially develop a new career.

Brenda added: “In its first 11 months the academy proved to be a successful new learning space for Hartlepool and I’m looking forward to seeing its potential continue to shine through now that we’re back up and running.”

There are a number of funding options for the courses at the LCG Beauty Academy and anyone interested is urged to pop in for further details.

Further details are also available by emailing [email protected].