I WRITE in response to Mr C Hesmondhalgh's laughable letter of last week, in which he tells the people of Lancaster to blame the Landlords of student properties for the actions of the students living there. He begins his letter by writing that he has, 'read with interest the current debate about the impact of the student population upon the local house prices and the alleged disruption caused by anti-social behaviour'. He continues in his letter to tell us that, 'The noticable rowdiness at this time of year is doubtlessly caused by the flux of freshers'

I ask Mr H, is the disruption and anti-social behaviour merely alleged, or is it actual fact, and is caused by student freshers, new to the area?

He then goes on to tell us that there are so many drunken students around because the university and local publicans promote the 'myth' of student debauchery. Is he trying to tell us that students are incapable of making a conscious decision, ie. for example we'll have two choices,

/ I'm going to go in to town with my mates and have a great time then return home quietly and respect my neighbours by keeping the music down and talking with my friends or...

I'm going to go in to town with my mates and have a great time then I'm going to leave the last pub with my drink and go to get a take away, I can't walk, carry my drink, food and eat it at the same time so I'll lose the drink, I'll put my glass/bottle here on this doorstep. Then I'll eat, shout and sing at the top of my voice to the amusement of my companions as we head into the residential areas of town.

Then as we pass cars I'll throw chips onto the windscreens and place a traffic cone or two onto the roofs of cars. Then if I get really carried away I'll kick a couple of wing mirrors off a car or two, then I'll join my mates as we all have a great singsong. When I get home I'll go to the kitchen and bump and bang about as my mates put the music on full blast and start dancing round the living room, (they're crazy they are!) Then I'll look at the clock, 4am already. Time for bed, most of 'em are crashed out now anyway.

I know which scenario I'm more used to!

Mr Hesmondhalgh then goes on to inform us that it is the fault of the landlords of the properties that are to blame, for 'packing 'em in' to their properties with little care about the effect upon local residents.' He asks if we know these landlords of student houses in our area.

The answer to your question is yes Mr Hesmondhalgh, I personally know three landlords, who between them have a number of properties which are rented out to students. I can assure you that if anyone made a complaint to either one of the three landlords about their student occupants, words would certainly be had with regard to the complaint and appropriate action would be taken to prevent any further complaint being made.

Meanwhile, whilst this debate is taking place, no-one has yet answered the question, where are all the 2,415 new intakes going to be housed next year. This year has already seen problems, have these problems now been solved?, everyone is reading but no-one has anything to say, there have been no comments from the university, no comments from local councillors, come on you lot, give us some answers.

Don't you think it's just a little unfair, to promise someone a home only to tell them that the home doesn't exist? Is Lancaster full?

We need to remember that Lancaster is only a small town, it only has city status because of its cathedral. It is still classed as being one of the smallest cities in Britain, although with the current population crammed in, we're probably one of the largest in the North!

You simply haven't been here for long enough Mr Hesmondhalgh, no disrespect.

Sean Kelly

Lancaster