Jesmond residents can now nominate Northumbria students for the monthly Best Neighbour on Campus (BNOC) award.

Newcastle and Northumbria universities have agreed to collaborate on the award which aims to improve relations between local residents and students across the city. 

Alongside this change, residents can now nominate students living in other parts of the city and its outskirts — previously nominations have been restricted to Jesmond. They can also nominate student households for the work they do within their local community, such as volunteering in schemes like Leave Newcastle Happy.

Marc Lintern, a BNOC organiser and director of Newcastle University’s careers team, said he is keen to increase the number of monthly entries, and urges residents not to discount their nominations as “not good enough”. Previous winners have been students who have simply introduced themselves to their neighbours, who have made an effort to keep noise to a minimum and who have communicated with their neighbours when planning a party.  “Ultimately, it’s about being neighbourly,” said Lintern. “We want students and residents to get along and recognise who they’re living next door to.”

If you’re a resident and would like to nominate a household, you can do so here. This year’s first winner will be announced before Christmas.

If the household you have nominated wins, you will receive a £250 donation to be made in your name to a RAG charity of your choice. Student households that win could receive up to £1,000 cash prize. The judging panel consists of residents and university representatives.

BNOC was established two years ago, at a time when tensions between residents and students in Jesmond were running high.”Thanks to BNOC and a few other initiatives set up by the university, including Resident Life and Operation Oak, things seemed to have improved,” said Lintern.