Locals concerned Huddersfield care home could become student accommodation

A Huddersfield care home could soon be converted into student accommodation as plans have been submitted to Kirklees Council.

Located in Tunnacliffe Road, Newsome Care Home has been vacant for the past two years. The developer, HD Assets, wants to bring new accommodation to the 46-bedroom former care home to cater for the city’s students.

The applicant says the building will undergo some “internal alterations” to improve the space and create 48 rooms. The property would also have 16 parking spaces and would have gardens maintained by the owner.

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However, some residents have expressed concern about the plans. One said: “The application states there will be 48 bedrooms. There are only 16 parking spaces for staff and residents. Parking is a problem on the surrounding streets with no spaces for potential excess parking spillovers from the development.

“There are housing projects currently on Hart Street and Plane Street nearby. This development would put additional pressure on local services, schools and dentists etc.”

Kirklees Council Highways also raised concerns about the lack of detail on matters including the number of journeys the development and cycle storage would generate. The authority says it cannot support the application without this detail.

They continued: “Highways’ main concern is that the 16 parking spaces would be insufficient for 46 dwelling rooms, current guidance calls for one space per dwelling room to be provided with one visitor space per four dwellings, a requirement combined total of 58 parking spaces. spaces.

“This is a large shortfall and could tend to overwhelm existing on-street parking in the area.”

West Yorkshire Police asked for a security measure to be added to the request. This would involve adding things like an alarm system, well-lit public spaces and locked gates to parking areas.

The planning statement from the applicant concludes: “The proposed development provides for efficient use of a site which is in a sustainable location.”

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