Original June 25 Article

NEW BEDS BUILT SINCE NOVEMBER 2007:

Camden Street, 495; Stepney Lane, 122; Falconar Street, 58; Sandyford Road, 19. TOTAL 694.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

Castle Leazes, 98, due for Sept completion; Leazes Arcade, 6, due for Sept completion; Pandon Bankside, 514, due for Sept 2010 completion. TOTAL 618.

WITH PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED:

Barrack Road, 500; Gallowgate, 15; Percy Street, 541; Stowell Street, 7; Half Moon Yard, 153; Portland Green, 1,900; New Bridge Street, 417; Former Winn Products site, 390; Union Street, 142; Falconar Street, 62; Bolam House, 23; North House, 24. TOTAL, 4,174.

They say enticing students from Jesmond and Heaton to areas like Shieldfield will destroy communities by cutting trade for businesses, which already drops by a third during university holidays, and leaving shared houses empty.

More than 40 landlords, letting agents, shop owners, residents and student representatives went to a meeting of the Shared Housing Working Group to voice their views.

Coun Armstrong told the meeting: “My view is that we could reduce the number of students in Jesmond and that would go a long way to making it a better and more sustainable community.”

Dominic Robinson, the Tyne & Wear representative of the National Landlords’ Association, said: “Coun Armstrong is saying he wants to move students out of Jesmond. He wants Jesmond to go back to being just families. Who’s going to move into Jesmond if the students move out?”

David Slater, the council’s executive director for regeneration, said: “We value the contribution students make to the life and economy of the city, and are trying to balance this with the concerns residents have in some areas.’’

letter 29 June P COOPER

Original letter

RE: your story Councillor calls for purpose-built student ‘ghettos’ (June 25)

Dominic Robinson really should take more interest in the area.

I don’t know why he is concerned about a student ghetto. Parts of Jesmond and Heaton have already been turned into student ghettos by the activities of his members and other landlords, as other residents have been forced to flee those streets. The noise and disruption caused by their student tenants and the squalor and dilapidation of the housing (which are the responsibility of the landlords ) are facts that the councillors, representing local inhabitants, are trying to address. Ron Armstrong and the other councillors are to be congratulated as they try to redress the current situation, create balanced communities and make the universities and landlords take some responsibility for the problems in the the affected areas that are a result of their activities. Students will benefit from appropriately priced accommodation, built and maintained to acceptable standards with convenient access to student facilities when the custom housing has been built.

Mr Robinson need not worry about Jesmond and similar areas. Once the councillors have succeeded in addressing the problem of the existing student ghettos, long-term residents who wish to live in the area and contribute to the community will return and disastrous economic and social effects of studentification will be reversed.

P COOPER, Jesmond Via e-mail

letter 30 June RON ARMTRONG

Original Article

Students do have a choice

THE article in the Chronicle, June 25, headed “Councillor calls for purpose-built student ghettos”, gives a misleading impression of Newcastle City Council policy on student housing.

By referring to student halls as student ghettos your reporter appears to have swallowed the propaganda from some of the student landlords.

The city council policy on purpose- built student housing is that set out in the document “Interim Planning Guidance on Purpose Built Student Housing” published in 2007.

That document considers the suitability of 50 sites for student halls, spread right across the city. It recommends the construction of approximately 6,000 bed spaces in order to cope with the rapid expansion in student numbers which occurred between 2000 and 2007.

Developers have been encouraged by the city council planning officers to consider all the 50 sites listed. Most developers have decided to build student accommodation on sites close to the city centre, particularly on the east side of the city centre. These decisions on sites for halls have been made by developers – not by the city council.

When these student halls have been built students will have a choice over where they live – either in a shared house or in a student hall.

The city council has no Stalinist power to require students to live in student halls – those who do live in halls will have done so as a result of a positive choice made by them – not as a result of coercion.

COUN RON ARMSTRONG, Chair of Shared Housing Working Group, Newcastle City Council.

letter 1 July Claire Lambert

Original letter

Families offer real answer

I REFER to your recent article on the current student housing issues in Jesmond.

Dominic Robinson, the Tyne and Wear representative of the National Landlords’ Association, said: “Coun Armstrong is saying he wants to move students out of Jesmond. He wants Jesmond to go back to being just families. Who’s going to move into Jesmond if the students move out?”

Well, Dominic, you may be surprised to know that there are a large number of families such as myself who already live in Jesmond. We shop locally, use the leisure facilities and our children attend the excellent local schools.

The balance has swung too far towards students in recent years – to the detriment of our neighbourhood. Address this imbalance and more families will move in – to the benefit of the whole community here.

Over the summer and university holiday periods entire streets in Jesmond empty of students. How does that help local businesses exactly?

Mrs CLAIRE LAMBERT, Jesmond, Newcastle.

Article 8 July 2009

LANDLORDS are continuing a campaign against student villages.

The National Landlords Association (NLA), representing hundreds of
landlords in the North East, has condemned plans for purpose-built student
accommodation instead of housing for families.

Newcastle City councillor Ron Armstrong, who represents, North Jesmond, has
come under fire for saying he would like to the number of students living
in areas like Jesmond and Heaton cut.

Coun Armstrong is also the chair of a city council committee which is
working on a scheme to develop student flats in areas such as Shieldfield,
Gallowgate, Percy Street and Half Moon Yard.

The NLA says it believes if there are resources to build new housing in
Newcastle it should be for the growing number of families.

They say students do not want to live in expensive, purpose-built
accommodation.

Johnny Lighten, NLA regional organiser, said: "Mixed communities are
vibrant communities. We need to be very careful not to create ghettos where
no-one wants to live. There are lots of young professionals together with young families and
older residents who, with the students, make Jesmond a diverse and lively
place to live. Coun Armstrong seems intent on destroying this."

Pete Mercer, student support officer at Newcastle University Union, said:
" Instead of addressing any problems within communities, Coun Armstrong's
mission to remove and then ghettoise students will devastate a thriving
local economy."

letter 10 July RON ARMSTRONG

Original letter

I SEE that local landlords are continuing with their campaign against purpose-built student accommodation (Evening Chronicle 8/7/2009).

They claim that students do not want to live in purpose-built student villages.

I suggest that they investigate other university cities such as Manchester where they will find student villages which have been in use for some time and which are very popular with students.

The obvious conclusion which I draw from the landlords’ campaign is that they are afraid that students will decide that the proposed new purpose-built student accommodation is very attractive and much better value for money than accommodation in existing shared houses.

Should landlords find that they cannot attract students as tenants to their properties in competition with new purpose-built accommodation, they can either rent them to families or sell them to families, thus starting to restore the balance of families to students in neighbourhoods such as Jesmond.

RON ARMSTRONG, Chair of the Shared Housing Working Group, Newcastle City Council.

letter 12 July MARTIN WARDLE, Jesmond,

LInk to orginal letter

Students should stay in Jesmond

I LIVE in Jesmond and feel that the issue of students is being completely mistaken by my councillor, Ron Armstrong (Chronicle, July 8).

He seems focused on blaming any opposition to moving students out of Jesmond on profiteering landlords. Whilst landlords are vocal on this issue has Mr Armstrong stopped to consider that Jesmond has changed and will not simply revert to the rose-tinted version he has from days past?

The terraced flats that seem to house students at present will continue to be owned by landlords who will then have to look for new tenants. The properties will prove to be very hard to sell to families as I cannot think of a single one who would want to buy a six-bedroom upstairs flat!

That leaves the question of who will live there?

As there are not queues of professionals waiting to house share in Jesmond, or anywhere else, landlords will be forced to take whoever they can to cover mortgage payments.

My view is very much better the devils we know. For all the students operate on different clocks to most other residents I, and my family, feel safe at all times which is more than I could say for many other parts of the city.

I do have sympathy for residents who suffer from disruptive neighbours having suffered myself in the past. I would suggest, however, that they use some of the many initiatives already available to them such as the city’s noise team to help educate students to be more considerate.

We even have more police on patrol in Jesmond thanks to funding from the universities. Where else do you get good old-fashioned bobbies on the beat?

The answer is certainly not social engineering which is what Mr Armstrong is effectively suggesting.

letter 16 July Henri Murison

Original letter

Stop just moving students

I READ with interest a letter by a resident of Jesmond in the Chronicle.

It supported the current Liberal policy of constructing purpose-built student accommodation in the city – including in the middle of communities where there is already a high student population and relationships are strained.

One such case is the Portland Green development, which is sandwiched next to the West Heaton Terraces and the bottom of Sandyford – these residents are the losers to the victory claimed for Jesmond in this letters page.

The whole approach of shifting problems from one ward or wards to others by building new, huge purpose-built units in the middle of existing communities where there are already problems, is frankly incomprehensible.

The Labour Group believes the council needs to actually have a rigorous approach to private rented housing, using more of the government powers available to tackle issues across the sector with a new Private Rented Housing Taskforce.

In addition, we demand the council sets up a student forum, with equal representation from councillors, student unions and with an independent chair.

With issues like access to higher education from low income groups into the city’s universities, community safety issues and building good neighbourliness it is essential.

The council needs to call time on simply moving students or problems around – and start trying to actually improve outcomes for communities on the ground.

HENRI MURISON, Shadow Executive, Newcastle City Council Labour Group

Created on /12/07/2009 12:11 PM by pcooper Updated on /26/07/2009 06:29 AM by pcooper