Petition brought against students
Residents of Badger Hill, Fulford and Heslington have signed a petition against the “studentisation” of the areas and are being backed by newly re-elected Councillor for Heslington, Ceredig Jamieson-Ball, himself a former York student.
Jamieson-Ball, who was recently re-elected with a healthy majority, has supported the petition for bringing the issue to the attention of the Local Development Framework (LDF) of York City Council. Accusations of hypocrisy are being levelled at the councillor after drawing attention to the time Jamieson-Ball spent in York as a postgraduate student.
The petition comes weeks after York students were praised in the York Press by Colin Mellors, Chief Executive of Higher York, a partnership of local colleges and universities, described the University of York’s recent Making Space at Fulford Youth Room project as “a particular success”. The project also won the team award at the Regional Millenium Volunteer of the Year Award ceremony, held in Leeds last term.
Another view of the current situation came from David Horton, the Labour spokesperson for Housing. “We also need to recognise that many students wish to play an active role in community life,” he said.
