Covid-19 Tensions rise as residents lose sleep due to ‘student’ parties

BRISTOL students have been accused of having rowdy house parties in breach of the coronavirus rules.

Tensions are said to be running high in student hotspots like Redland and Cotham, despite the academic year for universities having ended last month.

Residents report there are more undergraduates around than usual this far into the summer holidays.

As well as being kept awake by loud music and revelry into the early hours, they are concerned about the apparent lack of social distancing as groups of friends file into student digs.

Redland resident Andrew Waller runs a website called The Noise Pages, documenting the long-running tensions between students and Bristolians in the area.

He told the Post: “My mailbox has been full for weeks with angry emails from residents, who are losing sleep on a nightly basis and can’t understand how people can be so selfish. They are keeping people awake every night with loud parties, in some cases attended by numbers of people that clearly break the virus rules.”

The Noise Pages received 18 noise complaints in June and 20 so far in July, compared with zero complaints in July 2019 and July 2018.

One of the latest reports that police dispersed a party in Abbotsford Road in Redland, in the early hours of Sunday.

It stated “between 50 and 100 students filed out of the house and several police vehicles attended as officers cleared the street”.

Avon and Somerset Police has not yet confirmed record of the house party, nor if students were identified to be the hosts.

Mr Waller said it is primarily University of Bristol students who live in the area, with University of the West of England students usually favouring areas closer to Frenchay Campus.

Last week, bosses of both universities wrote a joint statement to students, urging them to observe social distancing and stop “putting lives at risk”.

Bristol students had been warned of fines of up to £800 for breaking coronavirus rules, and the university has now confirmed that several fines have since been issued.

Mr Waller said his neighbourhood is usually “blissfully peaceful” at this time of year, with most students having returned home.

However, he said: “This year hundreds of them, maybe thousands, have moved into their rented houses early in order to party – something they presumably can’t do at home with mum and dad. And while they’re partying they may be helping to spread the virus.” Mr Waller said: “They are posing a threat to parents, grandparents, people they shop alongside in the supermarket, as well as the university staff they’ll eventually be sharing teaching space with.”

A University of Bristol spokesman thanked the “vast majority” of students who had been following the government rules, noting that it had been an “extremely difficult time”.

However, a statement added: “We received a small number of reports of antisocial behaviour by students in both residences and in the local community. This behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the university.

“We wrote to students at the time to advise them that disregarding the guidance may lead to the university taking disciplinary action. This resulted in a small number of students being issued fines under student disciplinary regulations.”