£20,000 scheme to stop rowdy Lufbra students will see streets patrolled

A Student Street Support Scheme proposed earlier this year has been given the go-ahead and will see street patrolled from Freshers Week this year.

A massive £20,000 has been set aside in an attempt to prevent rowdy Lufbrarians waking up the locals.

The university has donated £10,000 to devise a permanent scheme, which will involve six security trained students patrolling Ashby Road, Radmoor Road and York Road, although the exact routes have yet to be decided.

The university is backing the scheme

The Charnwood Community Safety Partnership, which consists of the police, the borough council and other agencies has also donated another £10,000 but there is still a shortage in funding to run the scheme for the entirety of the academic year.

Ted Parton, ward councillor for Southfields, believes the uni should cough up the extra funding, as this has been the case at other universities across the UK where similar plans have taken place.

Parton said the scheme will start in Freshers’ Week, where it will be in operation seven days a week. After this, it will be run from 10pm until 4am on Wednesday and Fridays.

He spoke to the Loughborough Echo and said: “I am absolutely delighted that after two years of hard campaigning and many obstacles that the scheme is going to go ahead.

“It is going to introduce a culture where it is unacceptable to wake people up in the early hours and cause disturbances. Equally important it is going to be a uniformed presence protecting students.”

Radmoor Road, an area that has been proposed to be patrolled

A spokesman for Charnwood Borough Council said: “The Community Safety Partnership has committed £10,000 towards the Student Support Scheme in Loughborough.

“It is anticipated the scheme will cost around £30,000 to run for a year and the university is also contributing £10,000. Ways are being explored to make up the difference, but the funding guarantees it can run for the first two terms.

“The partnership believes the scheme, which offers pastoral care to students in town during some evenings, will not only improve their safety but also reduce their impact on other residents in the area. It will also work alongside existing police patrols.”

A Loughborough University spokeswoman added: “Dealing with late night noise remains a challenging problem locally. We know that the student population sometimes adds to the complexity of the issues.

“We are pleased that we have been able to organise this extension of the Student Street Support Scheme.”