University issues warning about West End disturbances

The University of Lincoln has received a number of complaints from residents regarding noise in the West End.

The University of Lincoln sent out a message to all students, including all those living in the West End, about the disturbances. Photo: David Wriglesworth

The concerns have been raised by West End dwellers, regarding the levels of noise late at night and early in the morning when students are leaving and returning from nights out in town.

Student and West End resident, Chris Carter said: “I live far enough down West Parade that I never really notice it too much. Although, one night, some drunken person did spend a solid two minutes trying to get in our front door at about 4am.

“I don’t know whether they thought it was their house or a friends, but they were quite persistent and rang the bell and fiddled with the lock for ages.”

He added: “Sometimes when we go out to a pub quiz and head home around 11pm, it’s about the right time for all the drunken people heading to clubs, and we always pass several groups of them on West Parade heading home.

“They are exactly what you would expect – drunk students shouting and generally being boisterous and making fools of themselves.  That’s what you get when you live in a city where the biggest demographic is students between the ages of 16 and 24.”

Another student resident of West Parade, Ellie Allerston, has directly been affected by the disturbances: “The disturbances haven’t been too bad, but we have been awoken in the early hours of the morning by loud, drunk students. I think it’s probably when they are returning from a night out.

“It’s not that bad for us because we are students, but there are families that live on West Parade and a school at the end of the road.”

Allerston recalled an incident that occured: “My housemate was woken up at 3am by people running down West Parade and laughing loudly. When we went out the next day we noticed that several wing mirrors on the cars had been tampered with.

“The glass in my wing mirror had been totally smashed. They hadn’t just broken the mirror but the plastic which held it in place, meaning I had to take it the garage.”

She continued: “It cost me £66 as a result of a drunken prank which I was very angry about. I definitely think that students are to blame and should think more wisely about their actions. As it was parked directly outside of my house, I expect it to be safe and respected by others.”

Another West End resident, Lindsay Westgarth said: “One night after midnight, a group of lads were chanting, obviously heading on a night out. They were being loud and probably could be classed as disorderly but it didn’t really bother us.

“I can understand why it would bother some residents as they have children or 9-5 jobs. I think sometimes people heading out are really inconsiderate and are the same on the way back.”

She added: “I don’t think it’s fair to say that it’s only students that are out making the noise. I have seen local residents, who have families and live nearby, being loud and abusive on their way back from town on a Friday or Saturday night. So blame needs to be shared equally on the majority of West End Residents, not just students.”

Director of Student Affairs, Judith Carey said: “We have received a small number of complaints since the middle of September in line with previous years. The complaints we have received up until now have all related to noise nuisance, some from individual houses and some from general street noise, particularly in the early hours of the morning.

“Where a concern relates to a specific address, we contact the students concerned directly.  For noise in the street, which will often disturb a number of residents, including fellow students, we decided that a message to all students would be an appropriate initial response.”