After being forced out of a "luxury" housing complex that was purportedly going to be utilized by migrants, university students are now in a desperate search for alternative homes.
According to Home Office proposals, hundreds of people seeking refuge might relocate to a 405-bed student residence in Huddersfield with a gym and a movie theater, according to The Daily Mail.
A week before the start of the academic year, more than 150 students who had already signed tenancy agreements were obliged to locate new housing due to the government agreement.
Previously marketed as "luxury student housing," the HD1 student halls in West Yorkshire are just a short stroll from the University of Huddersfield campus.
Students could rent rooms with amenities like a games area, pool table, movie theater, gym, and laundry facility for up to £200 ($253) per week.
The Entry of Hundreds of Migrants
The pact's announcement came after 300 migrants crossed the treacherous English Channel in small boats on Tuesday, bringing the total number of unauthorized immigrants entering the UK this year to 20,000.
The lettings company, Prestige Student Living (PSL), asserted that landlord Hudd Student Management had informed them the building would not be open to students.
The summer months have previously seen no one living on the block. 168 students who were supposed to live in the dorms have already received their refunds.
Read also: UK Gets Huge Houseboat to Host 500 Asylum Seekers
Disappointments Arise
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow minister for immigration for Labour, expressed his displeasure at the revelation, saying that students were "paying the price for the Government's reliance on emergency accommodation."
Pupils wearing facemasks as a precaution against the transmission of the novel coronavirus arrive to attend Moor End Academy in Huddersfield, northern England on September 11, 2020. - Millions of children across England have returned to school after the Covid-19 lockdown with many schools introducing measures to enable as safe an environment as possible.
The Higher Education Policy Institute's Nick Hillman stated that he was "genuinely shocked" by the information.
Huddersfield University is four minutes away by car from the HD1 studio apartments. Students living in the opulent building have access to super-fast broadband rates of up to 250mbps, as well as its own theater and a common kitchen space.
The prices for rooms range from £200 per week for a "platinum" studio apartment with a fully equipped kitchenette, a bed, a study area, and canal views to between £135 ($171) and £140 ($177) for a smaller bronze room.
According to a representative for Huddersfield University, there are currently open positions and enough student housing in the city to accommodate all of the university's students. They said to contact hudlets@hud.ac.uk if any impacted students have not already been re-housed.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "We have always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being put on our asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country." The Home Office claimed Britain was facing a huge demand from asylum seekers crossing the Channel.
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