Students are treated like ‘another species’

Students in Exeter are treated by councillors “like they are another species”, according to the leader of the city’s council.

Councillor Pete Edwards was speaking at a meeting where plans for a huge student flats development were approved for the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus.

He raised concerns about the treatment of students after Councillor Percy Prowse said he was worried about the number of them in the city and the amount of patrols the university would be putting in place on the new development site. Councillor Edwards said Exeter is “not a prison.”

“Sometimes at this committee when we mention the word students, it is like they are another species. You are saying we need extra patrols out in addition to what the university are proposing, but they are human beings and we need to treat them like that.”

The new development will comprise of 1,182 bedrooms and work is due to start early next year.
The East Park site has been marked for development for the university’s use since the 1970s, and the plans show 11 tower blocks, ranging from three to eight storeys high, and a total of 1,182 bedrooms.

Mike Shore-Nye, registrar and secretary at the university, said he’s “delighted” to receive approval for the plans. “The East Park development will create more high-quality, on-campus accommodation for our students, reducing the pressure on the city’s housing stock whilst strengthening our commitment to offer an excellent student experience. We will liaise closely with the local community to ensure the development process is a success for everyone.”

Work is due to start in early 2019 with the new accommodation set to open in two phases from September 2020 and September 2021.