Anti-Social Behaviour in Loughborough

Once again (Echo 13/10/21) the issue of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is causing serious problems for local residents and matters are getting worse.

Evidence from the 2020/21 University year clearly shows reported ASB from Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) is worse than the previous five years, with a 77% increase.

The bulk of this ASB happens in “hot-spot areas” where there are concentrations of student HMOs. These areas are well-known to the police, council and university, who have consistently failed to deal effectively with this serious social problem. This situation has been ongoing for twenty years and is obviously deteriorating.

The Human Rights Act supports the principle that, “Every person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of their home”.

However, local residents repeatedly experience the stress of late night noise, and many have been driven from their homes to escape the intolerable effects of ASB and the blighting of communities by HMOs. Others are trapped and unable to move away, and are effectively expected to suffer in silence.

Reporting ASB, which happens mainly at night, takes time and effort, and some people who do make complaints have been targeted by verbal abuse, vandalism and harassment.

To also be labelled as “serial complainers” or “anti-student” by those who are responsible for providing help, simply adds insult to injury and shows ignorance of the Human Rights Act. Local residents are not to blame for the fact that HMOs responsible for almost all ASB are occupied by students. With no effective remedial action provided, many victims no longer report incidents. Reporting fatigue is real, resulting in recorded incidents being just the tip of the iceberg.

The university often claims it is only a ‘minority’ of their students who engage in ASB - this is a common ploy designed to suggest a ‘minor’ effect on residents. The reverse is the case - the impact on mental, emotional and physical health of noise and ASB can be enormous, and this is well recognised.

The university has rules regarding student ASB and insists it is responsible for dealing with this. The council and police comply with this approach. In practice, it is clear that the mechanisms employed by the University which attempt to control student behaviour do not work!

The primary mechanism is the ‘Incremental Approach for Student Complaints’ - this actually allows repeat incidents to happen before any effective sanctions are applied to offenders. The process is murky, and when punishments such as fines are imposed for offences, the amounts involved are not revealed to victims. This neither acts as a deterrent to students nor invites the confidence of residents that the University seriously lives up to its stated responsibility.

Another mechanism is the ‘Student Street Support Scheme’, supposedly designed to deter and control student noise in streets. Again, it demonstrably fails, as witnessed by residents who regularly suffer rowdy groups out in their neighbourhood.

If it is truly just a ‘minority’ of students who are the culprits, surely the university can easily deal with them?

The Storer & Ashby area Residents

Group (SARG)