We need to tackle issues from influx

I am the originator of the petition: ‘Address the Student Crisis in Bath’ which has raked up some debate lately (Chronicle, page 6, August 9). The petition is what it says it is: Not an attack on students, but a call to tackle issues caused by the massive influx of students to Bath. Unfortunately this topic upsets students, but saying nothing isn’t an option. Twerton is an example of an area that evolved around providing for people in need. The first social housing to be built here rehoused people from slum areas around Avon Street and the Dolemeads in the town. Soon after came welfare agencies such as medical missions, schools and children’s clinics. Today the area is still one with a lot of need, helped by agencies like First Steps Twerton Children’s Cen- tre – set up after it was found that local mums felt isolated and unsupported, leading to depression. Now the wider Twerton area faces the loss of hundreds of family houses over time, as profiteering landlords convert these to student HMOS. They are homes that could otherwise be rented to low income families, so that families are not effectively pushed away from support services. The ongoing loss of family homes, rips into the original foundation of building up this neighbourhood around need and support – and I really resent it. Particularly galling is the thought that this deterioration springs from the greed of the University of Bath. Taken out of green belt land so that it could build student accommodation on campus, the university simply responded by applying to build more teaching blocks there. The council could help this situation. It could prevent the conversion of homes to HMOS within a certain radius around schools and nurseries. This would help preserve our housing stock, keep families located near services for them, and send a message to the university that it must take responsibility for housing more of its students. Joe Scofield Southdown