Invaded by students?

9:30am Thursday 11th January 2007

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Why can't students and local residents live happily together? STEPHEN LEWIS reports on the age-old town and gown divide.

BADGER Hill residents worried their estate is being taken over by students have petitioned York council to see if it can restrict the numbers of houses converted for student lets.

Local concern about "studentification" is a twist on the age old town vs gown debate - with local families feeling they are losing their community to temporary incomers. But why can't locals and students live together? And what, anyway, can the council do about it?

The campaigners

HE'S got nothing against students as people, stresses Malcolm Dewhirst, spokesman for the Badger Hill Action Group. He just doesn't want them taking over the community in which he has lived for more than 40 years.

He lives next door to four girl students, he says. They are perfectly nice young people - not noisy or inconsiderate in any way. "Though they don't do the garden," he says.

But what is noticeable is that for long periods, over Christmas, Easter and the summer, the house is empty.

It just isn't the same as having a family living there, Mr Dewhirst says.

"Normal residents look after each other. If you go away on holiday, your neighbours check to make sure everything is okay, that sort of thing.

"You don't really get that with students. They are itinerant. They are only going to live here for two years at the most."

In Badger Hill, there are 47 known student houses on an estate of 565 houses. Getting on for one in ten of all houses, in other words.

Mr Dewhirst fears that, as more houses become occupied by students, there will be a "domino effect" - with locals moving out and property developers converting more homes for multiple student occupation. He doesn't want to see that happen.

"Badger Hill has always been a nice place to live," he says. "I would hate to see it become a student area. I don't want to be forced into moving."

Paul Hobman lives in Eastfield Crescent, where something like 15 per cent of all the homes are now in "multiple occupancy" - which normally means students.

You can always tell a student house, he says, by the unkempt gardens, the drawn curtains, the generally shabby appearance.

It can put ordinary families off wanting to buy a house in the area, he says - so that property developers move in and convert yet more homes into student accommodation.

Gradually, he fears, the character of the area could change. Campaigners argue students don't use local shops - so these could be replaced by takeaways, video-rental shops and other facilities used by students, Mr Hobson says.

There are even worries about falling rolls at the local junior school.

It isn't only Badger Hill that has these problems, campaigners say - other parts of the city with high student occupation rates, such as The Groves do too.

Mr Hobman insists he has nothing against students. "They're not noisy, and while they can be a bit thoughtless, that's young people. It is studentification we're trying to avoid."

The students

IT IS unfair to victimise students, insists Amy Foxton, academic and welfare officer at York University Students Union.

As with any group of people, some make good neighbours, some don't. But it is not true that students are all noisy, or that they don't get involved in their local community. University of York students are involved in a wealth of voluntary and charitable work in York, Amy says - from helping out in local schools to taking disabled children away on holiday.

Added to all that, many students work locally to help eke out their student loans - often in low-paid jobs local people might not want to do. "They are working in low-paid jobs in supermarkets, restaurants and pubs that are really important for the York economy," Amy says.

Dave Stockton, president of the York St John University Students' Union, adds that enormous efforts have been made in recent years to improve the relationship between students and the local community.

Since the launch of the SSHH! (Silent Students, Happy Homes) campaign a few years ago, complaints about noisy students have fallen dramatically, he says.

His students are also active volunteers, with something like 1,300 of them helping out on projects such as redecorating the Groves youth club, as well as literacy mentoring schemes, and working in local charity shops.

It simply isn't true, he adds, that students don't use local shops. They do, because most don't have cars to get them to supermarkets.

York St John students are also regularly involved in local crime action meetings, and there are plans to hold a ward forum meeting at the St John students' union. "Students are residents too!" he says.

Just before Christmas, St John students delivered Christmas cards to thousands of homes in The Groves area, Dave says - and 99 per cent of the locals they spoke to said they caused no problems.

The landlords

NIALL McTurk, the chair of the York Residential Landlords' Association, runs Sinclair Properties, which rents accommodation to 1,100 students across York.

Any attempt to identify students as a group and restrict the numbers living in the community would be "discriminatory, unnecessary and illegal", he says.

Mr McTurk says there will never be student ghettos in York, the way there are in some areas of Leeds - this city is too small for that.

Recent legislation has tightened up on the management of multiple-occupancy rented housing, and has also given local authorities greater powers of inspection, he says. "And if a student house is well managed and looked after, there is no reason why anybody should have any concerns," he says.

How the council could restrict students

THE council's powers to restrict the number of houses in student occupancy in any one area are limited, admits Mike Slater, City of York Council's assistant director of city strategy.

Under national legislation, up to six people can share a house without having to apply for planning permission.

Most homes in Badger Hill are smallish family homes, which would accommodate three or four students, he says - and there is nothing the council can do to stop that.

The council can keep an eye on home extensions - but again, planning powers only apply to large extensions, not minor ones.

The council can, however, work with both the University of York and St John University to try to ensure they provide enough decent student accommodation on campus, he says. And it could also look at allocating land for student accommodation under the Local Development Framework, if that were felt to be necessary.

Alex Jackson visited Badger Hill to find out what the locals think

IT'S AN unseasonably warm January morning in Badger Hill, a quiet estate of trees, shops and bungalows just off the hustle and bustle of Hull Road.

Being so close to the University of York, it is hardly surprising the estate is popular with students living off-campus.

But what do locals think about the fact that 47 of the estate's 565 homes are occupied by students?

On my short visit, it was clear feelings were mixed.

"I'm not anti-university in any way as I think it is a splendid institution and students are entitled to their own lifestyles," said Badger Hill resident Harry Telfer.

"The problems arise when students live alongside long-term residents who have a completely different way of life. The theory is temporary residents don't care for their property and this leads to the degeneration of the area, where the family spirit is taken out of the estate.

"This is essentially what's happening at Badger Hill, where students are moving simply because the university is not providing enough accommodation."

Despite claims by some residents that students don't use local shops, however, shop workers themselves welcome students as they bring in trade.

Dennis Bradley, 51, an employee at York Tackle in Yarburgh Way, said: "I've been at the shop two years now and it's certainly never been a problem with me. I can understand why some residents want to keep the area student-free because of their reputation as party animals that play loud music all the time.

"Yet 99 per cent of them are hard working, it's just that minority every time that ruins it for the rest. The problem is you can't dictate who buys property and students have got to live somewhere haven't they?"

Leanne Lasenby, 35, owner of Mr Snips hairdressers, rubbished claims students don't use local services. Half of her customers were students, she said.

Some were good neighbours, some weren't, she added.

"The last students who lived next door to my shop left the house in a mess, with the garden a state, the door battered and the curtains torn. These student hostels clearly stand out in a row of houses," she said.

"The new students are well behaved and in terms of the estate, they are some of my most frequent customers.

"However, one aspect that is having a detrimental affect is the falling intake at the school. For years there has always been a big intake locally but now, due to a huge amount of students in the area, the intake is low."

Andy Legg, 41, who lives on Vamburgh Drive, said his neighbours were well behaved' and lovely people'.

He said: "We've supposedly got students living all over the estate, but you would never know as they are all so quiet. Our neighbours are great, always well behaved and there is never any noise, sometimes they even come in for a brew.

"I think it's the reputation that goes before students that most locals are scared of and this shouldn't be the case."

Students: facts and figures

* THE University of York has a student body of just over 11,500. At the moment, 43 per cent of its full time students are in university accommodation.

* If the Heslington East expansion goes ahead, the university would take on an extra 3,700 students, a university spokesman said. The new, extended campus would have accommodation for 3,300 of those extra students.

* York St John College has about 6,000 students.

* A report to the city council's City Strategy and Advisory Panel says there are some areas of York which do have higher student populations than others - Fishergate in particular.

* Of the Badger Hill estate's 565 homes, 47 are known student houses.