Storthes Hall is “closing for good” as students have had to find new homes

Huddersfield students are being forced to find alternative accommodation as Storthes Hall has just announced it will close for good this summer.

The historic Storthes Hall site has been used to house the city’s students since it was converted into a student village in the 1990s. Before that, the large country estate had a number of uses, including as a psychiatric hospital in the early 20th century lea.

While the reason for the closure remains to be seen, the number of students opting to live on the site has been declining, with around 40% of residences vacant in the current academic year.

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This was revealed in a planning application by Ubrique which aims to demolish the buildings on the site, minus those that are listed, and build 261 homes in their place. However, accommodation provider DIGS Student says these plans had no hand in the decision to close the site.

A DIGS spokesman said: “After 17 years in business, owners Storthes Hall Park have taken the difficult decision to close their doors once the current lease period ends on Saturday 13 July 2024. The Huddersfield site will follow closely on scheduled shutdown. for Friday, August 2, 2024.

“Despite many efforts to future-proof the business, this decision is inevitable in the face of many growing challenges – both in the wider market and unique to the business.

“All affected parties have been contacted and our priority now is to support our employees to find alternative employment and to support our student tenants to find alternative accommodation for the 2024/25 academic year.

“Alternative accommodation arrangements are in place and we are working closely with other accommodation providers to offer all confirmed bookings at Storthes Hall Park for 2024/25 with a room at another property in Huddersfield.

“South Street Asset Management has always been committed to the longevity and viability of the site and has begun to consider alternative uses for the site, including submitting planning permission in late 2023 to build 261 residential homes, however this is still at the beginning of the year. stages and is not the reason for the closure.”

Kat, a final year student at the University of Huddersfield, described the shock decision as “disgusting”. She said: “It bothers me because they (Storthes Hall) must have known about it for a long time… we’re in the final year now so it’s going to increase the stress.”

The site was previously considered by the Home Office for use as accommodation for asylum seekers. However, the Home Office recently confirmed it was no longer considering the site.

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