Death of a neighbourhood: Fury as uni students who don’t pay council tax and host noisy parties turning suburban street into a ‘family-free ghetto’ … as Labour council allows one of last remaining houses to become ‘multi-resident’ digs_Nhy
Fuming homeowners have slammed noisy youths for turning their charming street into a ‘family-free ghetto’ filled with undergrads who hold regularly raves.
Sunbury Avenue, in Newcastle’s beloved Jesmond area, was once a Victorian terraced street bubbling with families but now now a whopping 48 out of the 51 homes have students living in them – the equivalent of 94 per cent.
And this week yet another home on the Jesmond street was given permission to turn into a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO), meaning it can be used as student digs.
The homeowner, a Labour councillor, was granted permission by Labour-run Newcastle Council for her ‘£500,00’ pad to be converted into the 49th HMO on Sunbury Avenue.
Jonathan Scott, the chairman of Jesmond Residents Association, told MailOnline: ‘We are worried a precedent has been set. There’s a problem here. There are too many HMOs.’
However, Jonathan hasn’t given up hope yet and vowed to work with local councillors to make sure families were always welcome in the area. He said : ‘Jesmond will always be a place for families.’
But not everyone agrees. Shameless students who spoke to MailOnline said the street was just for them and criticised anyone brave enough to bring up their children there.
Oliver Boden, 26, studies Business with Spanish at Northumbria University. He told MailOnline the area was ‘not really for families’ and he was ‘surprised’ non-students dared to lived there.
Sunbury Avenue used to be a traditional Middle England street of hardworking families (left, in 1700)but these days (right) it is overrun with noisy students who are exempt from local council tax
Pictured: Ed Paul, a student living on the famed party street in the Jesmond area of Newcastle
Jonathan Ashman, a 20-year-old student studying Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University, said he believes Sunbury Avenue is ‘one of the loudest’ streets in Newcastle
Mr Boden said: ‘I thought it was all students on this road. I don’t think it’s a place for families to live.
‘Sometimes, especially on a Saturday, it gets noisy. It’s beside bars, so it wouldn’t be a place I would bring up kids.
‘Each to their own. If a family wants to live here, no one’s stopping them, but I do think it’s a student area.
‘It’s not really for families. At weekends, sometimes there will be a big house party on this street.’
Jonathan Ashman, a 20-year-old student studying Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University, said he believes the street is ‘one of the loudest’ in Newcastle.
He said: ‘This street is not suitable for families, it would be way too loud.
‘This is probably one of the loudest streets. It’s next to the Metro so on Wednesday night, student night, people go for a night out.
‘If I was with a family I wouldn’t move to this street. I can understand why people are concerned about it.’
Yvonne Gilhepy lived on Sunbury Avenue in the late 70s and said the reason she never returned was because it became overrun by students.
She said: ‘I never went back after having my daughter. My mum thought it was not right to take our new baby back to student accommodation.’
Local councillor Doreen Huddart said streets like Sunbury Avenue could become ‘no-family ghettos’.
She said: ‘I am shocked to see that we now have streets that are designated as being unsuitable for families or where families should be discouraged.
Families are being forced out of traditional suburban street Sunbury Avenue, Newcastle, by rowdy smirking students amid a Labour council decision to approve yet another HMO residence. Pictured: Students Gabriel Johnson (left) and Maddie Queen
The rising student population in Jesmond (pictured) has been heavily criticised by permanent residents in recent years, with 42,000 students occupying the area in 2024, according to UCAS
Locals have continually raised concerns for the ‘overwhelming’ number of student homes in the area due to an increase in ‘noise and activity’ observed on the street. Pictured: Students partying in Jesmond
‘I find the number of houses designated as HMOs quite worrying. We have no such thing to say how many houses in a street or on an estate can be classed as HMOs.
‘There is no ceiling on that, so you could have something that is 100 per cent and then it gets a reputation.’
Amid the derelict and neglected six and seven-bedroom student homes that make up 94 per cent of the street there are just three remaining family homes that stand out due to the flowers in their front gardens and well-kept exterior.
With an estimated 42,000 students living in the area of Jesmond, locals have continually raised concerns for the ‘overwhelming’ number of student homes in the area due to an increase in ‘noise and activity’ observed on the street.
In 2011, Newcastle City Council introduced restrictions that meant homes in areas such as Jesmond cannot be turned into a HMO without the developer receiving council-granted planning permission.
But now, a committee has voted in favour of allowing one of the three remaining family homes on Sunbury Avenue to be converted into another HMO.
Its owners, former North Jesmond Labour councillor Tanya Prestwell and her husband, believe they are struggling to sell because potential buyers are being put off by the significant numbers of students residing on the street.
Mrs Prestwell told the committee that they had only had four viewings since putting their property on the market last year.
She declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.
A council committee has voted in favour of allowing one of the remaining family homes on Sunbury Avenue into an HMO
Students living on the street said that they believe landlords are ‘rinsing’ them of their money and ‘taking advantage’ of the high demand for housing in Newcastle.
Mr Boden revealed that his parents have been forced to help him with the ‘sky high’ rent he pays for his six-bedroom house.
He estimates that he is paying up to £700 a month, alongside an additional £60 in bills for a ‘square box’ room.
Meanwhile, Mr Ashman said: ‘It comes down to landlords. If you can change a house into a HMO, it seems stupid not to, because you can just rinse students.
‘The landlords are really taking advantage of the situation.’
Despite local fears of growing anti-social behaviour and noise problems, one resident, retired teacher Christopher Wancke, has revealed that he has little issue living almost entirely amongst youngsters.
The 66-year-old retired biology teacher has been living on the student-dominated street with his wife Yvonne, also 66, for four decades.
Christopher Wancke, a 66-year-old permanent resident on the road, spoke positively of his friendships with the young students, insisting that ‘having them here is completely fine by me’
The property’s owners, former North Jesmond Labour councillor Tanya Prestwell and her husband, believe they are struggling to sell the home because potential buyers are being put off by the number of students on the street
He told MailOnline: ‘We absolutely love the students. Having them here is completely fine by me.
‘They’re nice, they’re friendly and they’re helpful. You get different ones every year usually but they are nice and chatty.
‘They don’t even have that many parties. There’s usually one at the beginning and the end of each year and sometimes one at Christmas.
‘I will knock on the door and tell them it’s midnight, would they mind keeping the noise down, but they’re fine about it.
‘If you can’t have a loud party when you’re 18 then when can you have one?’
The pensioner even revealed that he once invited students round to his house to share a barrel of beer.
He added: ‘I couldn’t drink it all by myself.
‘I have friends from the church and work but I thought the neighbours could come around. The students were the life and soul of the party and it was great.
‘I’m going to invite them round and cook for them soon. We get to know some of the students better than others but I’ve never had a bother.’
Labour North and Northumbria Police were both contacted for comment.
