Best UK areas to open dance school
81 local authorities ranked by the Gera Business Location Score — real commercial rent, local wages, business rates and market density.
Which UK areas are best for opening a dance or performing-arts school in 2026?
The best UK area to open a dance or performing-arts school is Mansfield (East Midlands), with a Gera Business Location Score of 71.8/100: premises at £26/m²/yr and local median pay of £26,761. Westminster ranks lowest at 30/100. Ranked across 81 local authorities from 2025 government open data; re-dated annually.
Top 10 areas for dance school
| # | Local authority | Region | GBLS | Rent (£/m²/yr) | Local pay | Rates / 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mansfield | East Midlands | 71.8/100 | £26 | £26,761 | £1,123 |
| 2 | Gateshead | North East | 71.6/100 | £29 | £28,507 | £1,253 |
| 3 | Northumberland | North East | 71.1/100 | £32 | £27,769 | £1,382 |
| 4 | Hartlepool | North East | 71/100 | £28 | £28,204 | £1,210 |
| 5 | Thanet | South East | 70.8/100 | £40 | £27,076 | £1,728 |
| 6 | East Riding of Yorkshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 70.6/100 | £32 | £29,355 | £1,382 |
| 7 | North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 70.5/100 | £44 | £29,288 | £1,901 |
| 8 | North East Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 70.4/100 | £32 | £26,631 | £1,382 |
| 9 | North Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | 70.4/100 | £29 | £29,973 | £1,253 |
| 10 | Calderdale | Yorkshire and The Humber | 70.2/100 | £28 | £30,451 | £1,210 |
Filter by your budget
Set a premises size and monthly budget to shortlist the areas that fit.
Budget covers estimated annual rent (VOA rateable value × floor area) plus the 2026-27 small-business rates bill (43.2p multiplier), spread over 12 months. Real reliefs (e.g. Small Business Rate Relief) can reduce the rates portion further.
Best areas to open a dance or performing-arts school within £2,000/month
- 1MansfieldEast MidlandsGBLS 71.8≈ £248/mo
- 2GatesheadNorth EastGBLS 71.6≈ £277/mo
- 3NorthumberlandNorth EastGBLS 71.1≈ £305/mo
- 4HartlepoolNorth EastGBLS 71≈ £267/mo
- 5ThanetSouth EastGBLS 70.8≈ £382/mo
- 6East Riding of YorkshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 70.6≈ £305/mo
- 7North YorkshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 70.5≈ £420/mo
- 8North East LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 70.4≈ £305/mo
- 9North LincolnshireYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 70.4≈ £277/mo
- 10CalderdaleYorkshire and The HumberGBLS 70.2≈ £267/mo
- 11SeftonNorth WestGBLS 70.1≈ £334/mo
- 12HyndburnNorth WestGBLS 70≈ £267/mo
- 13WirralNorth WestGBLS 69.8≈ £325/mo
- 14BlackpoolNorth WestGBLS 69.7≈ £239/mo
- 15OldhamNorth WestGBLS 69.7≈ £344/mo
Dance school by region
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the cheapest place to open a dance or performing-arts school in the UK?
- By premises cost alone, the lowest VOA rateable value among the 81 ranked areas is £24/m²/yr in Kingston upon Hull, City of. But the Gera Business Location Score also weighs local wages and market demand: on the combined score, Mansfield ranks #1 at 71.8/100.
- How much is rent and business rates for dance school premises in Mansfield?
- In Mansfield, the VOA rateable value for this property type is £26 per m² per year. For a 100 m² unit that is about £2,600/yr rent, plus roughly £1,123/yr business rates at the 2026-27 small-business multiplier (43.2p) — before any Small Business Rate Relief.
- What data is this based on?
- VOA Non-Domestic Rating Business Floorspace (rateable value per m², 31 March 2025), ONS UK Business Counts 2025 (market density), ONS ASHE 2025 (local wages) and ONS mid-2024 population — all Open Government Licence v3.0, joined on the ONS local-authority code.
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Contains public sector information published by Valuation Office Agency and Office for National Statistics and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: VOA Business Floorspace + ONS Business Counts + ONS ASHE (work geography) + ONS population estimates (2025 (VOA 31 March 2025; ASHE 2025 provisional; Business Counts 2025; population mid-2024), published December 2025).