Lenton Survey: Crime, Noise and Divide

A recent survey of Lenton has shown crime is students’ main concern and highlighted the fragile relationship between students and locals.

The rather predictable results found 1 in 4 students thought crime was the biggest problem – perhaps not surprising following shocking incidents of window smashing, theft, and even sexual assault.

A pessimistic 5% of students said they had a negative relationship with locals, but over 70% said they had no relationship at all.

Crime was students’ biggest worry

Most likely because of the typical student’s fondness for drink, 75% of locals said noise and anti-social behaviour was the biggest problem, compared to only 22% of students.

Locals named Sunday to Thursday evenings as the worst for noise due to having work in the mornings or taking children to school.

Asked whether there was actually anything good about Lenton, students pointed to the vast student community, whilst locals pointed to location.

Speaking to The Tab, third year student Sarah Hancock said:

“Lenton is a great place to live as a student, but I can imagine it must be difficult for families and locals to move to such a noisy student populated area.”

The Lenton Survey was carried out by Community Reps, a group of students set up by UoN student Ben Haddock to overcome the rift between students and locals.

Community Reps visited 246 houses, of which only 16% were non-students, to ask residents for their views about Lenton.

During a discussion between Community Reps and a local area committee, it was suggested that students often wrongly get the blame for landlords leaving a mess after clearing houses over summer.

Lenton’s drunks proved too much for this student

It was also claimed that the £70 parking permits seem to have uncluttered Lenton’s roads with fewer cars parked than previously.

Although 45% of locals said they’d help Community Reps solve local issues, only a meagre 16.8% of students said they would.

Community Reps will later this year launch a Street Reps scheme for student volunteers to help in the local community, with the hope of launching the programme permanently in 2015.