4.1
Panel members heard evidence from a number of city
residents with points to make about the issue of students living in
the local community.
4.2
Evidence from Sheila Rough, Milner
Road
4.2(a) Ms Rough made
the following points:
- The
Milner Road area had now reached saturation point with students,
and that additional accommodation on campus was therefore needed
urgently;
- Privately rented housing occupied by students (‘student
houses’) now outnumber other types of housing in the
area;
- There
should be a cap on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)* permitted in one street;
- The
number of student houses in the area has a negative impact on
general property values;
- The
number of houses occupied by a number of adults (many of whom have
their own cars) causes severe parking problems, exacerbated by
anti-social behaviour in relation to parking (i.e. double-parking)
which has the potential to impede emergency vehicle
access;
- There
is a major issue of noise nuisance (esp. late night
parties);
- Rubbish is a major problem, with some students not adhering to
collection days, not recycling etc;
- The
universities should accept more responsibility for their students
living in private sector housing;
- The
universities should take responsibility for informing students of
appropriate behaviour in terms of living in the
community;
- Noise
problems are constant, with particular problems at or after
3am;
- She
had tried in the past to talk to individual students about these
issues, but had been discouraged by negative responses;
- She
had tried to involve the police, but had been discouraged by the
police response (not attending incidents etc.);
- She
would suggest key areas for improvement were: imposing a
street-by-street cap on student numbers; provision of more
on-campus accommodation; better guidance from the universities on
appropriate student behaviour.
- NB: ‘HMO’
has a particular meaning in planning law – referring to
housing with three floors or more/six or more occupants not living
as a family unit. However, it is also frequently used more
generally to refer to privately rented housing shared by several
adults – e.g. to ‘student houses’, although
relatively few student houses in the city are, technically
speaking, HMOs. It seems sensible to
assume that non-expert witnesses to the panel use the term HMO to
refer to shared private sector rented housing in
general.
4.3
Evidence from Ted Harman, Chair of
Coldean Tenant’s
Association
4.3(a) Mr Harman made
the following points:
- There
are some problems with students in Coldean, particularly in terms of the number of
adults living at some properties and in terms of
parking;
- Although there have been isolated problems with student
behaviour (including urinating in front gardens), most students are
polite and do not cause trouble;
- Bus
stops in the area can become very crowded with students queuing to
go in to town etc. Sometimes the sheer number of students waiting
for buses can pose a problem, particularly for older people/people
with young children who can feel intimidated (even when no one
intends to be intimidating);
- Given
the very large numbers of people in the city on the shortlist for
family homes, can it be a sensible use of resources to house
students in homes more obviously suited to families?
4.4
Evidence from Mr Wright, Southall
Avenue
4.4(a) Mr Wright made
the following points:
- The
major problems with students involve noise and rubbish;
- There
is also a problem with absentee landlords who do not upkeep their
properties;
- Clear
guidance from the council and from universities (particularly in
terms of refuse collection dates etc) might help;
- Furniture is frequently dumped in the front gardens of student
houses for long periods of time. More pressure should be placed on
landlords to ensure that this does not happen;
- Stickers placed on rubbish bins (giving details of collection
days) would be useful. (This was endorsed by other audience
members).
4.5
Evidence from Anna Hunter, Hanover
4.5(a) Ms Hunter made
the following points:
- There
was a growing feeling amongst Hanover residents that problems
associated with students had reached an unsustainable level and
that things needed to change;
- Hanover residents recognised the value of
a vibrant and mixed community which welcomed students, but feared
that the mix of the community had become unbalanced;
- Residents (both students and long-terms residents) could make an
effort to get to know their neighbours;
- Most
students are reasonable enough, but a minority cause very major
disturbances; the problem is particularly centred around the
Phoenix Halls of Residence and surrounding streets;
- Noise
is the biggest problem in Hanover; a fact recognised by many
students themselves;
- There
have been positive changes in recent months, with local pubs
enforcing drinking inside after 10pm and less graffiti
appearing;
- The
‘SSHH’ campaign has had some effect and is much
appreciated by residents;
- It is
not always clear who people should contact with noise/ASB
complaints. In particular, council Environmental Health services
need a clearer pathway for complaints and all council staff need to
be aware of and able to refer into this pathway. Too often, council
staff offer conflicting advice to complainants;
- The
situation at Phoenix Hall could be improved by Brighton University
ensuring that: two security officers are present (and on duty) at
nights (one officer cannot police the entire Halls effectively);
that residents do not play loud music with their windows open; that
more of an effort is taken to remind residents of the need to be
considerate to neighbours; that firmer action (including academic
sanction) is taken against persistent troublemakers.
4.6
Evidence from Trevor Wood, Coldean Residents’
Association
4.6(a) Mr Wood made the following points:
- That
students are normal people, often living away from home for the
first time, and shouldn’t be blamed for
everything;
- Giving
houses with 5 or 6 adults a wheelie bin the same size as that
allocated to normal households does not make sense, as there is
inevitably more rubbish produced than the bin can hold (which means
the extra rubbish goes in black bags which are then pecked open by
seagulls etc.);
- There
are problems which CityClean needs to
address, such as unacceptably long waits for recycling boxes and
CityClean operatives who refuse to pick
up recycling which hasn’t been left in precisely the correct
place. Such actions tend to discourage students from recycling when
the council should be working hard to encourage them;
- In
terms of noise problems, the Residents’ Association makes a
point of obtaining landlord details whenever possible and contacts
landlords should problems arise. This is an effective way of
dealing with noise nuisance;
- Members of the Resident’s Association make a point of
welcoming new students to the area and trying to work together with
them to address any problems which might arise (advising people
where they should park etc.);
- There
should be a cap on HMOs, and the
universities must take some responsibility for housing their
students;
- Coldean is a
community which welcomes students, but it is also a pleasant area
for families to live and it is very important that the family
nature of the area is not lost through an excess of student
housing.
4.7
Evidence from Richa Kaul-Padte,
Sussex University Students’ Union
4.7(a) Ms Kaul-Padte made the following points:
- There
is a tendency to view all problems associated with young people
sharing houses as being student related, but by no means all young
people in shared accommodation are in fact students;
- Sussex University houses nearly all its 1st year students on campus (or
students live with their families);
- There
are also large numbers of part time and mature students who do not
necessarily fit the stereotype of students;
- There
should be a properly functioning accreditation system for
landlords, to ensure that student housing is of an acceptable
standard: both in terms of the quality of accommodation which
students should expect to find, and in terms of the impact of
student housing on the broader community (e.g. landlords should be
discouraged from using conservatories as living
spaces);
- The
council should work together with the universities and the
Students’ Union on refuse and recycling issues in order to
encourage student recycling;
- Students should be seen as part of the local community; students
do lots of volunteering and do make practical contributions to
community cohesion;
- Landlords and
Lettings Agents could do much more in terms of refuse/recycling
– ensuring that students have up to date information,
advising on bulk waste disposal etc,
4.8
Evidence from Gillian Fleming,
Hanover
4.8(a) Ms Fleming made
the following points:
- That
she does not feel the universities do enough to tackle problems
caused by students – particularly in terms of
noise;
- That
Phoenix Halls of Residence is a particular source of problems, with
more needing to be done by Brighton University to minimise the
disruption caused to local residents (for example by placing
tighter controls on students congregating on the
‘podium’ at night-time);
- That
many students are very pleasant, but the annual churn of people in
and out of student housing means that developing good relations
with neighbours does not necessarily provide a permanent solution
to neighbour problems.
4.9
Evidence from Tanya, former
student
4.9(a) Tanya made the
following points:
- Universities are in a ‘catch-22’ situation with
regard to student accommodation: if they build halls of residence,
they risk being accused of concentrating noise/ASB problems; if
they rely upon private sector housing across the community, they
risk being accused of not addressing the problem of housing their
students;
- Universities can only fund new halls by increasing the student
intake (which means increasing the future number of 2nd
and 3rd year students seeking privately rented
accommodation);
- Brighton University has no campus; it therefore has no option but to build halls in
densely populated residential areas;
- A
restriction on HMOs/student houses
would only work if there was sufficient non-student demand (e.g.
from young professionals) to replace students in particular areas.
The risk would be that such restrictions would lead to empty
homes;
- The
‘problem’ of students in the community may not be
amenable to a single ‘big-fix’, but rather to a number
of small scale interventions on issues such as refuse, recycling
etc.
4.10
Evidence from Tom Wills, near Lewes Road
4.10(a) Mr Wills made
the following points:
- He was
shocked to hear of the behaviour of some students: such behaviour
is by no means universal;
- In his
experience local residents have been very reasonable and patient
with students;
- Many
students could manage quite happily without cars; perhaps the
Students’ Union could do more here to promote public
transport;
- More
campus accommodation is needed at the University of Sussex,
particularly for 2nd and 3rd year students
who would prefer to remain on-campus;
- Campus
accommodation must be affordable; recent campus building has
focused on the ‘luxury’ end of the student market (with
en suites etc.) and such accommodation is beyond the means of many
students;
- There
is a basic lack of supply of student accommodation in the city;
this means that landlords are not encouraged to
bring rental properties up to an acceptable standard as they
know that demand outstrips supply and that they will therefore find
people who have no option other than to rent from them.
4.11
Evidence from Julia Pilgrim,
Hanover
4.11(a) Ms Pilgrim
made the following points:
- Noise
is a major problem, even when the degree of noise does not reach a
level at which Environmental Health (EH) services can take
action;
- Noise
problems are not just about students; non-students living in shared
accommodation can cause just as many problems;
- Not
all students cause problems; it’s very much a
minority;
- If the
universities’ contracts with students include sanctions for
persistent ASB, then these should be enforced. If no such sanctions
exist, they should be introduced;
- Noise
can be very frightening: it’s not just an issue of
inconveniencing people;
- Preston Barracks should be considered as a possible site for
dedicated student accommodation;
- A
central point of contact for student-related problems (for people
complaining about student behaviour, but also for students to use)
would help, but only if it had real
‘teeth’;
- Given
the size of local universities, they should really do more to
manage their students’ behaviour;
- Before
EH will act on a noise problem, they require the
perpetrator’s exact address. Obtaining this information can
be frightening, as it may involve going out on one’s own in
the early hours and possibly encountering the people who are making
the noise who may well have been drinking heavily/taking
drugs.
4.12
Evidence from Adam, Sussex
University
4.12(a) Adam made the
following points:
- That
if city public transport was more affordable, fewer students might
keep cars. As it is, it can be considerably cheaper to drive across
the city than to take a bus;
- Students do not need to be singled out for special treatment:
ASB should be treated as such whether students are its perpetrators
or not;
- The
universities have barred one landlord from advertising on their
property lists, but that landlord is still doing business in the
city, so it is not clear what effective sanction the universities
actually have to ensure their students are housed by responsible
landlords.
4.13
Evidence from Sam, Brighton
University
4.13(a) Sam made the
following points:
- He
lives in Hanover and loves the area; he feels part of the
community;
- Students should be encouraged to take an active role in the
community, particularly in terms of engaging with Residents’
Associations. This would help integrate students with long term
residents and provide a means to address minor niggles before they
escalate;
- The
National Union of Students is currently running a Neighbourhood
Pride campaign to encourage students to engage with their
communities;
- Brighton University currently runs the SSHH campaign (silent students, happy
homes);
- Housing density and inappropriate conversions of homes are
essentially planning issues and the city council should take
responsibility for them;
- Brighton University employs a full-time officer to liaise between the university and
local communities.
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