Jesmond residents have told JesmondLocal universities should take more responsibility over the lack of parking in the Lindisfarne Road area, as they claim most of the problems are caused by students.

JesmondLocal spoke to locals who complained about student vehicles parked in their streets, the majority of them supposedly abandoned for months.

One resident walking a dog on the road, who asked to remain anonymous because she does not want to annoy neighbours, said: “The universities do own lots of land. So, if students want to bring their cars, maybe the universities could make land available for them to park their vehicles on.”

Most of the cars in the area belong to students, which those JesmondLocal spoke to claim prevents permanent residents from parking in front of their own house. Students post the location on social media as a free parking zone, and then “it just becomes like a wasteland of abandoned vehicles”, the anonymous resident added.

Scott Dawson, another resident from the neighbourhood, told JesmondLocal: “In places like Oxford and Cambridge, where they have issues like this, they actually notify the students to say, ‘Do not bring a car, bring a bike.’ That is how they deal with it, so it does not have an impact on the locals.”

However, students need their cars as well as others in that area. Eloise Quitmann, a student at Newcastle University, said: “We have to get around to do food shops, get to sport, help friends out with lifts. It adds expenses if we cannot have our cars up, and makes life more complicated,” she said.

A spokesperson, speaking on behalf of both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, told JesmondLocal: “The universities have close working relationships with local transport providers, as well as with Newcastle City Council, to make sure that students throughout their time with us are aware of all the options available to help them move around the city.”

The spokesperson added: “Student residents, like any other resident, may choose to have a car if they feel that it will help in their daily lives. With all aspects of living in the community, we continue to encourage them to be mindful of those around them.”

Some people JesmondLocal spoke to worry that a proposed permit parking scheme the council is currently consulting with residents about will not resolve the issue but only push the problem further into other streets. “They are going to go and park somewhere else. It is only going to transfer the problem somewhere else,” said Dawson. The anonymous resident also said: “I feel sorry for the streets further away because all it’s doing is pushing the problem.”

Some residents find the proposal unnecessary as they think there are enough parking spaces available to everyone.

Ralph Pattisson, another resident, told JesmondLocal: “On Lindisfarne Road, that would seem to be unnecessary and just money-raising effort of the council and restrictive to people’s freedom and ability to go about their business freely and without problems.”

Henry Cave, another local living on one of the streets that it’s proposed would be subject to the permit change, said: “When the students are here there are few cars that park on Jesmond Dene Road. But actually, on Lindisfarne at the bottom, and Castleton and Glastonbury Grove, there are not so many cars parking.”

The proposal covers Adderstone Crescent, Castleton Grove, Glastonbury Grove, Lindisfarne Close, and Lindisfarne Road, with limited waiting between the hours of 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, and the effect on students is inevitable.

Thomas Reynolds, another student at Newcastle University, said: “Being able to park on Lindisfarne for free makes such a difference. Train tickets are so expensive these days that it ends up being cheaper to drive, but if there is nowhere free to park then it is really difficult.”

The consultation about the Hybrid Limited Waiting and Permit Parking Scheme 2024 has now ended and more information about further steps can be found here.