Residents raised concerns about the disproportionate split betwen student properties and permanent residencies at the annual South Jesmond Ward meeting, held at Newcastle Cricket Club on Saturday November 3rd.

Student housing has long been on the rise , with the Chronicle reporting a 31% increase in student housing across Newcastle in 2017 – not including purpose-built student residence halls.

Many residents attending the meeting voiced their concerns about Jesmond’s transformation into a student-friendly, rather than family-friendly neighbourhood.

Bobbie Harding, one of the attendees and a prominent member of the Jesmond Community Forum said: “Enough is enough”, proposing a new “families first” policy.

Each ward sets its priorities for the year through consultation between the ward councillors and residents.

For South Jesmond, the priorities are currently Keep South Jesmond Clean, Keep South Jesmond Safe & Healthy and Keep South Jesmond Moving. At the recent ward meeting, the suggestion was made to replace the latter with Keep Jesmond Family Friendly.

One of the main concerns is that landlords and letting agents are misinforming their student tenants about the community and their rights.

“Most of the blurbs I see from letting agents tend only to promote the proximity of the bars – or describe the area as lively and vibrant. It’s very one-dimensional,” Harding said, explaining how she is surprised that the pubs and bars in Jesmond can continue to promote alcohol consumption through discounts following the recent inquest into an alcohol-related student death in Jesmond.

This is not the first time Jesmond residents has raised concerns about student discounts, as JesmondLocal reported last week.

“We’ve lost our identity,” Harding said at the meeting.

She added: “This is certainly not a proposal to cause friction or division between permanent residents and students – but to encourage the troublesome minority of students to respect the needs of others for a peaceful, litter free area in which to live.”

The suggested priority switch to Keeping Jesmond Family Friendly is currently under consultation by the the ward’s councillors, who did not respond to requests for comment.

Beth Richardson contributed reporting