The following is a letter that was delivered in the Burscough Street, Station Road and Scarisbrick Street parts of the ward over the weekend. When we canvassed the area there was a genuine concern about the unplanned growth of student accommodation in the area – particularly with the impact on community, house prices, parking and the appearance of the neighbourhood.

I am writing because I have received a number of complaints in this part of Ormskirk regarding the noisy and inappropriate behaviour of some students, a general decline in the upkeep of the area and parking problems, all resulting from the high proportion of multi-occupancy housing.

Understandably, some blame the University, but I believe that the root cause isn’t the expansion of the University, but the reluctance of the District Council to have a realistic and pragmatic response to its growth.

There are some long term policies that the Council could implement to mitigate the impact – in particular by allowing more accommodation on campus in exchange for tighter control of the planning rules in the town. However, such policies can’t be implemented overnight.

In the meantime there are concrete measures that the Council could put in place to improve matters for local residents.

As a small step towards this, I have asked the Labour Group to present a proposal at Full Council on the 22nd April asking that noise abatement officers should be employed throughout the night during Freshers Week instead of just office hours. This will tackle any noise nuisance during that first week of term – a time when students may be away from home for the first time.

It is important to stress that the overwhelming majority of students are law-abiding and courteous young people, and that the measures proposed are not some kind of anti-student witch-hunt, but a small short-term measure designed to promote harmonious relations in the longer term.

I am also aware that there is much concern about the proposed flats to be built at 198 Burscough Street.

I have asked that the plans for 198 Burscough Street be “called in” – this means that the Planning Committee will get an opportunity to debate the plans rather than it simply being rubber stamped. This will also give local residents the opportunity to address the planning committee directly with their concerns.

My long term aims are: that we try to control the growth of multi-occupancy housing in the town; that streets with high student populations are well looked after and free from anti-social behaviour; that everyone in the town benefits from the success of the University and that landlords pay their fair share towards the provision of local services through council tax. I hope you can support these small, but immediate steps towards these goals.