Asylum seekers were expected to move in to the Manchester Road site last year but this never happened
The former student accommodation at Manchester Road, Huddersfield(Image: Gerard Binks)
Plans to turn former student flats in Huddersfield into housing for asylum seekers remain unclear.
The Home Office is giving very little away when it comes to the Manchester Road site. The plan to use the former student accommodation site as housing for asylum seekers came to light in summer 2023 and saw 168 students forced to make alternative arrangements. Originally, it was anticipated that asylum seekers would be moving into the accommodation last year but this never came to fruition.
When asked for an update on the current position and when asylum seekers would be moving in, a spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Decisions on the future use of accommodation sites will be made in due course in consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders.
“This lease agreement was agreed before the election and change of government. No asylum seekers will be moved into the site until planning permission is obtained and it is ready for occupancy, including meeting legal and building regulations.”
When Kirklees Council was asked if they had any comment on the situation, a spokesperson said: “The council and its partners set out our significant concerns about the planned use of the site last year. The Home Office agreed to look into those concerns and we continue to await their response.
“We have no information to suggest plans to use the site are imminent and we urge residents to be cautious about speculation and misinformation, particularly online.”
When a major update was given in February 2024, it was said that the first group of asylum seekers would be single adult men between the ages of 18 and 65 who would be arriving at the site within the “next few months”. Though this didn’t happen. At the time, the Home Office said “robust security checks” would be carried out before anyone could move in.
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If the plan remains the same, when the site comes into use, a “phased approach” will be used to gradually increase the number of asylum seekers accommodated there over time. When fully operational, the premises can accommodate around 670 people.
An investigation into asylum accommodation by Whitehall’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO) published in March 2024 stated that the Home Office is expected to be using the Huddersfield site until 2033.
According to the NAO report, the Home Office had expected the Huddersfield site to cost £23m less than using hotels – which stood at £8m per day – but the more recent figures showed it would cost £2m more than the hotel equivalent. Between March when the report was released and 2033, a total of £358.4m was expected to be spent on the accommodation in Huddersfield.
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