STUDENTS CAUSING NOISE NIGHTMARE
Residents hit out over ‘unbearable’ nuisance
R ESIDENTS living in Cardiff say they are growing tired and frustrated with the noise nuisance created by students.
They say the noise is “unbearable” at times and have to go on holiday during Freshers’ fortnight, as this is the worst time.
One resident has lived in the Cathays area near the city centre for more than 15 years now takes to social media to vent her frustrations, and is in contact with the police.
Angela Crockett, 40, of Fanny Street, is regularly woken throughout the middle of the night and says the noise peaks during Freshers’ fortnight and then calms down, only for it to reignite after Christmas.
She said: “The noise is louder on certain days like Wednesday and the weekend obviously. There always seem to be socials on a Wednesday and this day the noise is crazy – you have students jumping on cars, screaming the street down in the middle of the night; it isn’t pleasant.
“Every year during Freshers, I book a two-week holiday and leave the country because these two weeks are just the worst. There will be house parties, people leaving for town, arguing in the street, it’s just mad.”
Angela lives alone but says she has nieces that stay over regularly who aren’t used to the noise. One night, her niece woke up to students jumping on cars outside.
“When people stay over who aren’t from the area and don’t know what to expect, they’re quite shocked. My niece was frightened as she slept downstairs and heard people jumping on cars outside, so she was obviously scared.
“If I lived in Lisvane [north Cardiff ] and I complained, there would probably be three riot vans out. But I live in Cathays, so obviously there is zero recourse. I have tried to call 101 but get told to get a specific door number.
“I can’t exactly get out of bed at 4am and ask them to be quiet, I shouldn’t have to. A very drunk stu- dent can be rude and aggressive.”
PC Mike Neate, community safety student liaison officer for South Wales Police, says the police are working with students on educating them on being “responsible” neighbours.
He said: “We work closely with the Universities and Shared Regulatory Services throughout the academic year to educate students about being responsible neighbours.
“Noise pollution and litter are not policing matters, but when there is a call about a policing incident, for example a crime or anti-social behaviour, then officers attend.
“We would urge residents to please report policing matters by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.”
Residents say overflowing bins, litter and used condoms on the street are too common for their liking.
One man, who lives on Flora Street, Cathays, but didn’t want to be named, described how a typical week works.
He said: “Mondays are usually quiet with the odd few people walking to town, Tuesday is the same but Wednesday is probably the worst. Thursday is quiet and then the weekend is obviously painful.
“I used to be a student myself and I can see why people want to have fun, but there’s just an unnecessary amount of noise. The problem is that Cathays is mainly full of students and there aren’t many residents left, so everyone just gets on with it.
“In September and October all the students are fresh and have just got their student loan. You see in November it calms down and then after January it repeats. I find it funny at times, but it’s also very frustrating.
He says the weirdest thing he has seen is a group of girls walking with a kebab after a night out, and falling over, before picking it up and eating it.
Meanwhile, Angela says a group of students once helped each other climb up to touch the Fanny Street sign, leaving her confused.
A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “We are one of three major universities in the city centre and we take our responsibilities to the local community and other residents extremely seriously. We work hard to ensure that all of our students act responsibly and as ambassadors for our university.
“Throughout the year, we work closely with the Students’ Union to make students aware of the consequences of their behaviour. We would encourage any resident with concerns about the behaviour of our students to contact us.”
A spokesperson for Cardiff Metro- politan University, said: “Cardiff Metropolitan University takes incidents of antisocial behaviour very seriously. Any complaints made to the university in relation to the antisocial behaviour of students are investigated to establish the exact circumstances, as well as the identity of students involved to determine if they are from Cardiff Met.
“Our code of student conduct sets out the behaviour expected of students and disciplinary procedures are put in place when these standards are not met.”
Cardiff council say they recently carried out a joint operation with the police as they became aware of noise nuisance in the area.
A spokesperson said: “The Shared Regulatory Service carried out a joint operation with the South Wales Police on Wednesday evening, as intelligence came to light that student parties were causing a noise nuisance in the area.
“During the course of the evening, officers visited a number of residents that were affected by the noise, as well as those that were causing the noise.
“A number of individuals that were causing the noise were spoken to and warning letters will now be sent to these properties to advise them of their obligations as both a tenant and a resident.
“If anyone is disturbed by loud noise from a neighbour, they are asked to call 0300 1236696 so the authorities can investigate and take necessary action.”