Five months after Newcastle’s local elections, four roads in Jesmond have received resurfacing works and a new children’s play area has opened in Jesmond Dene. However, plans to tackle student housing, rubbish in back lanes and parking pressures are still in progress, say councillors.

The three re-elected Liberal Democrat councillors, James Coles, Peter Allen and Philip Browne, told JesmondLocal after the election in May that they would prioritise potholes, back lanes, housing and parking.

JesmondLocal spoke to some residents, who asked not to be identified. They said they had not noticed any major changes in the area since May. However, the councillors said parts of Osborne Road were resurfaced in late May and early June, followed by Cavendish Road, Lyndhurst Avenue and Bayswater Road in September.

In Jesmond Dene, a new children’s play area has opened and Pet’s Corner has been improved. The cafés in Exhibition Park and Paddy Freeman’s Park have also reopened. Work to replace Coleman’s Bridge at Coleman’s Field “will now start in January but the funding has been agreed”, Cllr Allen told JesmondLocal.

A residents’ parking scheme for streets off North Jesmond Avenue has been approved, while a survey in Jesmond Vale has also been agreed to assess the need for permits.

Rubbish in back lanes is another issue for residents. Cllr Browne told JesmondLocal the councillors are pressing the council to make residents take responsibility for their bins. “We made a start but it is still work in progress.” The administration has consulted on a proposed bylaw that would require residents to keep bins on their own properties except on collection days. The consultation has closed, but its results were still pending at the time of reporting.

Jesmond councillors say there are dozens of littering incidents each week and that clearing a back lane costs £150. “If we can reduce that massively by making this one tweak, it then means that we can start spending money on stuff we’d rather be spending money on,” said Cllr Coles. The proposed changes have not yet been confirmed.

Housing remains a longer-term priority. Cllr Coles wants to extend the Article 4 Direction across Jesmond, review licence fees and improve enforcement against landlords. None of these proposals has yet been confirmed as a new policy. The Article 4 Direction has been in place in some areas of Jesmond since 2011. It requires planning permission before converting a family home into a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) with three to six tenants.

Jesmond councillors plan to encourage more student accommodation in the city centre, leaving more homes in Jesmond for families and local residents. A 25-year-old woman who lives and works in Jesmond, and asked not to be named, said drinking on university nights was one of her main concerns. “Sometimes just walking around and being surrounded by a lot of drunk students is a bit unnerving,” she said.