ONE of Huddersfield’s most iconic buildings is to become student accommodation.

The former Thatchers Furnishings shop at 1 Threadneedle Street is being converted as part of a £2.8m regeneration boost to the town.

And a Grade II listed building at 15 Chancery Lane – a former warehouse and office which has been derelict for several years – is also being redeveloped as part of the government’s funding boost. They will be privately-sold properties.

Kirklees Council is one of just 20 local authorities to be awarded funding for the scheme by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the grant of £2.8m will be used to revitalise Huddersfield and Dewsbury town centres.

Clr Peter McBride, Kirklees Cabinet member for Investment and Regeneration, said: “These two fine buildings will get a new lease of life through this scheme and will provide much-needed residential accommodation in the town centre which is likely to be attractive to students residing in the town.

“These new residents will use town centre shops for their purchases and will bring more economic benefits for retailers.

“The buildings will be repaired and maintained and will continue to make a valuable contribution to the fine Victorian heritage of the Huddersfield streetscape.”

The council’s Bringing Clusters of Empty Homes into Use scheme aims to transform vacant former commercial and retail spaces into living places.

Kirklees Cabinet recently agreed to the two buildings being part of the scheme and will be in residential use for at least 20 years.

It is hoped that they will be ready for occupation in the autumn.

The former Thatchers furniture store went into administration last September and closed in October 2011 after more than 70 years of trading in the town centre, with the loss of 20 jobs.

Developer Khalid Pervai, the new owner of 1 Threadneedle Street, secured planning permission to convert the Grade II listed building into student accommodation.

The conversion will see the creation of 40 en-suite bedrooms with communal lounges, kitchens and living and dining space.

The four floors will provide seven clusters of accommodation each with its own communal area.

And the upper floors of 15 Chancery Lane, a Grade II listed building in Huddersfield town centre’s Heritage Area, have already been converted into 16 accommodation units. The owner now proposes to convert the ground floor and basement into a further 10 apartments.