Keep off the grass: Council slams students in park palava

Exeter City Council has lashed out at students after a spat over damaged flower beds got out of hand.

The Council put up a sign at the war memorial in Northernhay Gardens, which warned students against treating it as ‘an extension of the student union bar’.

And when questioned by The Tab, the Council’s Parks Officer said: “If I had my way, I’d have a sign up banning students”.

The offending sign

Despite it being the summer holidays, the message appears to target Exeter students in its request to “refrain from walking across the flowerbeds and treating this listed War Memorial as an extension to The Student Union Bar”.

The sign, posted on the “I Love Exeter” page on Facebook, received comments from locals accusing the Council of discriminating against students.

One local said: “It is wrong of the council to basically point the finger at students, it could have been worded much better.”

Ruth Davenport, who works at the University, said: “The students are all out at the moment so it’s unlikely to be them.”

Galvin Short, Parks and Playing Fields Officer at Exeter City Council, said: “The signs were aimed at college students who used the gardens as a place to drink, smoke, have a barbecue and play football, which damaged the flowers. The police were called out numerous times as they were using the shrubbery as a toilet.”

“It was mainly college students who were to blame, and there are signs targeted towards them too. University students were in the gardens in the second week of June drinking lager and Estate Patrol were called out.

“We’re currently enjoying peace as it’s summer, and the signs should be down now, but if I had it my way, I’d have a sign up banning students – or at least college students.”