Officers at High Peak Borough Council have recommended that councillors refuse the University of Derby’s plans to house asylum seekers in vacant student accommodation.
The university would see asylum seekers housed at High Peak Halls in Buxton, which consists of 274 rooms and has not been used by students since 2019.
The university has applied for the use of the halls by ‘non students’ to be considered lawful, which would be the case if there was no material change of use and therefore no requirement for development or planning permission.
The council’s development control committee will consider the issue on Monday (7 August), because, a council report states, it has become ‘locally contentious’.
The report says the council has received 1,400 objections and 14 comments of support.
Officers said they were not able to state with confidence that the plans would not give rise to material change of use.
For instance, the report says, the accommodation of asylum seekers could be prolonged and not follow a set pattern, while students do not generally stay year-round.
Asylum seekers, unlike many students, would not be registered elsewhere with doctors and dentists, and would therefore be entirely dependent on the healthcare facilities within the town, the report states.
It also says students have access to university spaces, while asylum seekers would have different needs for public open space.
