Sunday, 28 September 2008

Neighbourhoods and students

Communities and Local Government have just published an Ecotec report as part of an evidence gathering exercise 'to review the problems caused by high concentrations of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which has been highlighted as a particular problem in some towns and cities, especially those with high numbers of students'.

According to the press release, the suggested measures include 'new planning mechanisms and the widespread adoption of a number of the best common sense local solutions that can be easily adopted.' ('Common sense local solutions'? There's something quite un-official about this use of language).

The causes and the wider structural issues associated with HMOs, according to the report, are felt to include community cohesion and community imbalance. It's worth keeping in mind that the problem is perceived to be not in HMOs per se but in high concentrations of HMOs. Report is here, press release here.

It being that time of year, the Neighbors Project blog has this timely little checklist on 'how to be a neighborly student' -

  • Treat your neighbors here like your neighbors back home
  • Get to know your neighborhood
  • Party with care
  • Work or volunteer in the community
  • Voice your opinion, but remember your place.

Now, anyone care to try drafting the corresponding checklist for residents preparing for the next influx?

28 Sep 2008 20:58:24 | Neighbourhood relations

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