Area braced for ‘mayhem’ as students come back
UNI EXPANSION ADDS TO NOISE AND PARKING ISSUES
MAJOR issues with parking and noise are plaguing residents ‘marooned’ between two student accommodation developments in Beeston.
Families and couples living near Dagfa House and Broadgate Park say they are often woken up in the early hours of the morning to noise and sometimes cannot park outside their own homes.
It comes as a Broxtowe Borough councillor warned against “making the same mistakes” by approving future student accommodation projects in such close proximity to residential areas.
Councillor Philip Owen, who represents Nuthall East and Strelley for the Conservatives, said he predicted Dagfa House in Salthouse Lane would cause issues if approved by the planning committee back in 2017.
The 229-room development, on the site of a former school, is next to Broadgate Park, a ‘village’ of student accommodation, which houses 2,000 students and is run by private company UPP.
Caroline Slaney, 62, said she put up signs outside her house on Kenilworth Road after the parking got out of control at the start of the year.
She said: “It’s been a major problem here. It got to the stage where five days out of seven, people couldn’t park outside their homes and have to park two streets away.”
She added: “The noise has been really problematic too.
“I’ve often phoned at 3am about big parties, especially during Covid. Beeston is vibrant because we have students and I wouldn’t want them to be banned from living here.
“But there is a limit and I think we are getting to that limit around here.”
Terry Mulloy, 80, who lives on Peveril Road, Beeston, told the Post: “When students are back, it can be mayhem.”
He went on to express his frustration over parking issues and says, “some students park anyhow, it’s not the majority, it’s just some of them.”
Duncan Miller, a 50-year-old architect attended a meeting with the police and university over the summer which he described as “helpful” and said “my best hope is students don’t bring their cars back.”
Neighbour Thomas Grant, 74, who is retired, said he too has problems with parking.
“I’ve been blocked in by students’ cars and they’ll park on the corner.
“We’ve asked for permit parking from the council but they’ve said nothing. Because most of us have drives there’s no requirement for permit parking.”
While in the area, the Post’s reporter witnessed police officers taking down the details of a car parked in Peveril Road, in what the police officer described as “an obstruction of free flow of traffic.”
Peveril Road resident Colin Brown said: “It’s horrendous. Last year was the worst.
“It hasn’t started yet because it is the first week of term, but in two or three weeks they will be back. “They used to block the drive or park right against my drive. Most of the time the whole street is blocked with student cars.
“I would like to see parking permits for residents here.”
Another resident, who has lived in The Cloisters since 1987, said she felt like her street was “marooned” between two student accommodation developments.
She objected to the Dagfa House development in 2019.
She said: “We are an island in the midst of an ocean of students.
“The university has got lots of land, why can’t they use that?
“We try to give them a bit of leeway in terms of noise in the first week or two because they always go a bit mad.”
Cllr Philip Owen
Councillor Owen said: “There have been a lot of complaints about anti-social behaviour and it’s not fair to inflict that on a family orientated community.
“If the university wants to expand students, they’ve got a huge campus and they’ve got a lot of land there to develop accommodation.
“I always thought Dagfa house was going to be a mistake. I voted against the recommendation, on the basis that it would cause problems.
“There’s nothing we can do about that now but you do need to learn from mistakes and we can stop it from happening elsewhere.”
Ward councillor for the area, Councillor Stephen Carr (Lib Dem) said: “Last term it was horrendous.
“Dagfa House was passed with no parking spaces at all and it is up to planners to insist on there being spaces.
“They should accept that some students do have cars despite the fact that the university asks them not to do so.”
A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: “Ahead of the start of the new academic year, we are communicating with all our students to remind them of their responsibilities to their local community. We are also working closely in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police and Community Protection to increase proactive patrols in neighbourhoods with higher number of students.
“We do not tolerate any form of anti-social behaviour and any reports will be investigated promptly. If there is evidence of behaviour that falls short of our student code of conduct, immediate action is taken under our internal disciplinary processes.”
A Broxtowe Borough Council spokesperson said: “We take reports of antisocial behaviour very seriously and we work with many local partners to ensure that our residents are not adversely affected. We would encourage anyone who is subject to this type of behaviour to report it to the Dagfa House management team as well as the Council. Ongoing parking issues should be reported to the Highways Authority.”
UPP declined to comment.
If the university wants to expand, they’ve got a huge campus on which to develop.