If approved, the accommodation would house up to 40 students
A language school in Cambridge could be turned into student accommodation. EF Education First seeks to turn Romsey House in Mill Road, Cambridge, into accommodation for up to 40 students.
Romsey House has been around since the 1800s. Education First acquired the property in the late 1990s, and it has been used as a language school since then.
However, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the “school’s operation dwindled”, as stated in the plans. The building has remained vacant and out of operation since January 2025.
The institution has other sites in Hills Road and Mill Road, and it offers language courses, student exchange courses and educational tours to around 4,500 students every year in Cambridge. In the summer, it hopes to welcome new students aged between 10 and 17 years old for summer holiday courses.
The school currently doesn’t have dedicated student accommodation, so seeks to use this vacant building for accommodation. The applicant said: “The change of use can accommodate up to 40 students enrolled on short courses, supporting Education First’s existing facilities in the city by providing student accommodation bespoke to their requirements.”
The applicant added that it would “help meet the growing demand for resident facilities” for the school’s growing student numbers. It would also provide “much-needed” accommodation for the already established language school in Hills Road.
If approved, the rooms will be shared. In most cases, the students will only be at the accommodation for a few weeks, compared to months or academic terms.
Changes would be made on the ground floor to make the building “more accessible”. This would include adding in bedrooms, a kitchen, living and dining spaces, toilets and shower rooms, and living accommodation for a resident advisor.
The ground floor is proposed to accommodate 12 beds, seven WCs and 10 showers. On the first floor, the historic features of the house will remain and existing rooms will be repurposed.
The applicant said that new partitions are “limited” for new WCs and shower rooms. To give access to the first floor, the existing staircase will be rebuilt. The first floor is proposed to have 28 beds, five WCs and four showers.
Throughout the house, secondary glazing is proposed for the windows to lower “heating demand” and reduce “occupant discomfort”.
