MMU students host parties at halls despite local lockdown and new rule of six

Despite Manchester continuing to be in local lockdown, students of Manchester Metropolitan University have recently hosted parties in their halls in Hulme, Manchester Evening News reported.

A neighbour living near MMU’s Birley Halls claims that there were about 100 students keeping nearby residents awake and that the parties occurred on both Monday and Tuesday night, lasting until after one o’clock in the morning on the Wednesday.

Photographs taken by the neighbour depict the scale of the party, where it appears that social distancing rules were not adhered to.

Not only has the new rule of six recently been implemented but Manchester still remains in local lockdown due to a high number of coronavirus cases.

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, the neighbour said: “It was like a rave, they were just p****d. The music was loud. They were drinking, hanging off each other. The music was being played to an outside audience.”

The resident said she, “contacted security, who put her through to the legal department at MMU, but nobody answered” and that she then, “spoke to the community liaison officer for the university, who suggested holding a meeting with concerned residents about the issue”.

The neighbour told Manchester Evening News: “All we (the residents) are concerned about really is the new law with people not being allowed to mix with groups of more than six. Older people are using the same post offices and shops.

“I don’t really blame the students. MMU should be doing more. I don’t feel they are taking enough responsibility”.

A spokesman for MMU said: “We take our responsibility to our communities very seriously.

“We have put a range of measures in place to make our campus COVID-secure and keep our students, staff and neighbours safe.

“In a joint statement with other Greater Manchester universities we also set clear expectations about the behaviour we expect from our students and the role they play in preventing the spread of the virus.

“We also warned students we would not hesitate to take disciplinary action should their behaviour fall below those expectations.

“We have increased patrols by our security team to ensure we identify any potential issues at the earliest opportunity and have also taken disciplinary action against a small number of students this week, including giving fines.

“Local residents should be assured we will continue to tackle any anti-social behaviour or breaches of COVID guidance as soon as we become aware of them.”

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