aoi_to_midori

Public

...is that I am just starting to pick up (and I mean myself, not just reading about it in the press) a significant backlash against the sheer volume of student accommodation being built in towns and cities. I think most people accept that a large student population brings various benefits. But drawbacks too. Most students (outside London, at least) have cars now, and so both congestion and parking issues get noticeably worse. People resent being unable to buy a house or even a flat at a vaguely affordable price when hundreds or even thousands of extra students are being provided for. Some shopping centres are being cleared out for yet more space for student flats. In some cases student accommodation is at least partially exempt from rules that apply to normal residential, such as the (admittedly inadequate) ones on affordable housing. The number of foreign students is now vastly higher than 20 years ago. There's a sense in many places that the towns and cities they live in won't see much benefit as those with high-value degrees will go off to London or abroad. "It generates money for the economy" feels hollow if it's spent somewhere else.

This isn't to say that people don't understand the benefits of having a significant student population in a town. I think most people do, and sometimes (as with the Hive, the large library in Worcester that I wrote about yesterday) there's a clear and obvious benefit to the local community. But I do think we're at the point now where people are beginning to feel that (and this isn't a new complaint by any means) some areas are starting to verge on being a giant student housing quarter with a town attached. I think we could reach a point where some local communities actively don't want more uni growth in their towns. Higher education institutions need to do a lot more, and now not in 10 years' time. Big, serious provision available to the local public -- theatres, say, or leisure centres -- and on a walk-in basis too, not a "we have occasional public events" or "well, if you sign up and pay a membership fee and book a week in advance" basis. Some do -- the Hive succeeds for exactly this reason -- but not enough.

ETA: It's been pointed out in the comments that the increase in student accommodation is not necessarily simply at unis' behest, and that's perfectly fair comment. This is still how quite a few people feel, though. They feel as though another big student block is being prioritised over their run-down shopping centres and swimming pools. It's also true that it's the case that the hollowing out of local government by various Westminster parties in recent decades has had a strongly negative effect, otherwise they would be providing better pools and centres. But what I've recently been picking up, fairly or not, is resentment against the unis themselves, even if that's not altogether fair.

Public


142/365: The Hive, Worcester
Click for a larger, sharper image
I was in Worcester today, and I must say it was a big relief for it to be considerably cooler than it has been, although the lack of much sunshine was a disappointement. I discovered there was an indy bookshop I hadn't previously discovered, Plot Twist Books -- its lack of a website, as opposed to a Facebook page, really hurts it with people like me who don't have Facebook. Sadly it's closed on Sundays, so I'll have to explore it another time. Still, I did get to go to The Hive, Worcester's wonderful combined public/university library. As a Worcestershire resident I have a card for it, which is great as it's open 8:30-22:00 every day (yes, including Sundays) and has a very wide selection of books, including some that smaller libraries would have "weeded" years or even decades ago. It's hard to take a photo of, but I've had a go today. It's a pity the weather was dull as the panels shine almost golden in bright sunshine.

(Oh, and that subject line? It's how Stephen King once described books.)

Public


141/365: Old Woodcolliers Arms, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image
Another very warm day, but hopefully the last for a little while. Today's 365 photo is not one of the easiest to make out, but I particularly wanted to include it at some point. It's the engraved glass on the front door of what is now a private house but until 2016 was the Woodcolliers Arms pub. What, you may ask, is or was a woodcollier? It's simply another name for a charcoal burner, and until about a hundred years ago charcoal burning was carried on in the nearby Wyre Forest. This pub went through several incarnations in its final years, including a short spell as a Russian-menu gastropub. I never went in it as far as I can remember, though. Just not my kind of place.