Accommodation Can Now Accomomdate Non-Students
Image courtesy of Flickr
The owners of student accommodation in Newcastle-under-Lyme have been granted permission to take on other tenants due to a reduction in demand brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Met will now be able to accommodate non-students in some of the 211 studio rooms on offer.
However, the decision has caused alarm for local hotel owners who fear that it will place them in direct competition with The Met.
It has been argued that allowing a student accommodation provider to target the same types of customers could force some hotels to close. The Met was built on the site of the former Metropolis nightclub and mostly targets postgraduate and overseas students.
Under the terms of the original planning permission, the site could only be let to students. But the council has agreed to a temporary variation of the conditions, which will last until July 31st 2022.
Duncan Melville, director of Primus Alliance Newcastle Ltd, the owner of the site, said: "Our scheme is uniquely suited to support groups such as key workers in town and staff at the hospital who need to work in clusters or self-isolate as the predicted second wave (of coronavirus) hits us."
"Each unit contains its own kitchenette, shower, TV and high-speed internet."
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Head of Research at StuRents
Richard leads the StuRents research team, providing proprietary, platform-driven insights to help stakeholders make better-informed decisions about the market.
