THE University of Chester has hit out at comments by Cheshire West and Chester Council leader Mike Jones for claiming many neighbourhoods are being overrun by students.
The university dismissed Cllr Jones’ opinions, expressed on Chester radio station Dee 106.3, that Handbridge, Upton, Vicars Cross, Hoole and Newton were being ‘taken over’ and that there were now streets in Garden Lane without families.
Spokeswoman Jayne Dodgson said: “The council itself has just sponsored a brand new £5 million school – Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary – which serves the area immediately adjacent to the university and is situated at the heart of the Garden Quarter community in Walpole Street.
“Cllr Jones expresses concern about several named wards in the city being ‘taken over by students’, including Upton and Newton, while Handbridge ‘is getting hit quite badly with students in the terraced houses’.
“However, local residents may find reassurance in a dispassionate and objective review by the university of its current student records data relating to the concentration of students in these areas.
“In Handbridge, four university students are currently registered as residents. Three are full time and one is undertaking a PhD part-time. All are mature students.
“In Upton, 19 students live in rented accommodation. Newton, where the university’s Kingsway campus is based, has 550 students, but 115 of those are in John Milton Hall, the university’s own accommodation, and the majority of the remainder are at the Liverpool Road end of Brook Lane, close to the main campus.”
Ms Dodgson says Cllr Jones also “generalises about students’ liking for takeaways and bars, with a threatened loss of ‘quality shops’ ”.
“Students do spend money on food and drink,” she said. “But they are also discerning customers of a wide range of other commercial outlets.”
Committee chairman asked to ‘step aside’ when student village is debated - full story see page 25.
