Liaison,
It is officially BBQ season (again!). The sunshine encourages excess alcohol from lunchtime onwards. The streets, that BCC spend so much of Belfast tax/ratepayers money cleaning, are a mess of papers, bottles, broken glass, litter, broken furniture and the remnents of fires/BBQ’s etc.
Some fine examples of this constructive behaviour can be seen at:-
(*streets in Holylands)
I would like to suggest that BCC save some money by having permanent litter wardens and environmental health enforcement officers and on-street alcohol abuse enforcement teams in the area until 17.30pm Monday to Thursdays (then the official Wardens can hopefully take up the reins). Any fixed penalties should help to fund the additional cleansing required to clean the area even more than it already is.
Approx 02.00 – (*descriptions of anti-social behaviour)
From approx 02.00 – (*anti-social behaviour, particularly shouting)
This mornings all night parties (all went on until well after 05.00am), were at:-
(*addresses in Holylands)
Shouting from the first floor windows at most passers-by, especially females, drinking, shouting and urinating outside the house. PSNI gave advice at least once.
Shouting inside and outside the property, blaring music and open windows on first floor. Reported to Noise Control.
It would be interesting to see the universities begin to educate some of these young adults.
I appreciate any action that can be taken to cease this behaviour before the autumn…
Thank you,
Dfarrell
*We have edited this letter so that specific details such as addresses and physical descriptions have been withheld.
Can I just point out that this basically sums up pretty much the majority of ‘student areas’ and is not a problem just in the holylands. I’m sick of people just complaining about the holylands! All night parties happen in other areas too ya know.
That they do, but the Holylands has earned its reputation as a party centre for a reason. If you walk along the streets off Stranmillis or the Lisburn Road at 4am you’re far less likely to see drunken clubbers returning home or hear loud music blaring. It’s not just the University’s fault though, these kids should have been taught some manners by their parents by the age of 18!
Can’t wait to see what this year’s St. Paddy’s festivities brings to the Holylands. It could go either way – Either it will be as quiet as a chapel on Easter Saturday, or it will be just as bad, if not worse than last year. If the weather is good, then the usual shenanigans of street drinking and wandering inebriated young ‘uns will occur. If there is a police presence, then the “drinks in, wits out” phenomenon of “F off Brits” will prevail. Also, silly first year lads, which I’m sure will be a minority, will perhaps want to re-create last year’s nightmare.
It remains to be seen. Although, not long to wait now.
Personally, i don’t understans how students pay to get a university education and then live in areas like that. It is certainly not an atmosphere that promotes study. Cramped, dirty houses, easy access to drugs, music blaring – I’m glad my house is nowhere near the student areas.
Oh Sarah, what a misinformed view you have. You’ve been reading too much sensationalist accounts of Holylands life.
I live in what would be classified as the notorious Holylands, and my house is roomy, very clean, quiet and I haven’t once come into contact with drugs at all. What exactly do you mean when you say “easy access to drugs”? That’s funny. I very much doubt that country folk living in the Holylands are very much into drugs. If there’s a problem then it’s drink, not drugs.
I do hear noise at night, but it’s only from about 1.30 til 2…and it isn’t annoying for me as I don’t go to sleep until after that. Also, even if I was sleeping, I don’t think I’d hear it. I’m not condoning the noise, as there shouldn’t be any level of annoying noise whatsoever.
You have a very unrealistic view of things.
I haven’t been reading sensationalist articles, I have first hand experience of the area as friends live there. Walking into a friend of a friends house party I was immediately offered mephedrone over the blaring music! I just feel sorry for non-student residents.
Ive lived in the holylands for 3 years as a student and it has been the best 3 years of my life. Never once have i been offered drugs (also mephedrone is still legal)and if there is a noise problem, you can never underestimate common decency and ask them to keep it down. If more people asked people to keep it down then they wouldn’t spend the rest of the time complaining about the noise. We have a great relationship with loads of non student residents and we party as hard as the rest of the holylands, we just know that there is give and take with neighbours which most students realise. Finally sarah, if your friends are friends with druggies thats your problem and theirs – not the holylands.
If the area annoys you so much Sarah then the simple advice would be not to attend house partys in the area. Perhaps this is an addition to the problem, young people who aren’t from the area using it as a ‘party zone’ when it suits them. From conversation with other students this seemed to be an additional factor last St.Patrick’s day.
Sarah, i think you have a point in that your experience with the Holylands was obviously not the best – and while i don’t think it’s necessarily the norm, it’s not completely unique either. Anti-social behaviour goes on nightly in the Holylands area – and it IS often worse than in other student areas. That’s the truth of the matter. Some people are into that scene, and some people aren’t – if you’re in the later category, it’s pretty much hell. I can totally understand that.
At the same time though, saying that everyone in the Holylands lives in a cramped dirty house is something of a sweeping statement, and just not the case for a lot of people! Also, when you say you can’t believe people would pay so much money to attend university, only to live in this kind of area… perhaps it’s because they’re already up to their eyes in debt that the Holylands becomes more attractive. Generally housing there is a bit cheaper than in, say, Stranmillis. There’s also the fact that it’s hard to beat in terms of handiness to Queen’s. So, all in all, i can definitely see why many students might consider the option of the Holylands – most of whom are not anti-social people. They are probably just as annoyed/intimidated by the stuff that goes on thanks to some of their neighbours as you are!
“Wise Up Sarah”: – i think most people would agree that the problem of anti-social behaviour is not often one that can be easily rectified by politely asking your (completely steaming!) neighbours if they’d kindly mind turning their music down! Residents (students and otherwise) have to put up with noise and fights and various other things that they’d really rather not – that’s the reality and there is no point denying it. Drunk people are often pretty inconsiderate and unreasonable, that’s kinda the problem :p
Your point about mephedrone being still legal (and so somehow acceptable?)… i’m not even going to get into that one!
BND: Telling Sarah to just not go to the Holylands doesn’t really solve anything whatsoever though does it? She has a right to her opinion based on her own experiences, and in any case, the issues surrounding the Holylands have garnered major press interest, and such articles colour everyone’s view of all of us as Queen’s students – whether Holylands residents or not.
Ok – stopping now!
lets play nice, I have 2 points. 1 obviously I didn’t advise anyone to break up fights or get involved in violent situations – i thought that went without saying so thank you for saying it. 2 Where did you get the idea that I said mephedrone was acceptable? If you’re going to make up other peoples arguments then you should argue with your self more often. And more drunk people are reasonable than not so :p
The case is that the holylands has a massive concentration of students and statistically there will be some trouble makers. The degree to which they are anti social determines the course of action to be taken – I find complaining about things after they’ve happened to be one of the most useless courses of action to take. If there is violent or criminal behavior near you then call the police – if it can be resolved safely by other methods then do that. Sorry I had to spell it out – I thought it was obvious.
I live in the heart of the Holylands and after the first day of sunshine to come back and see people on the street chattin and having a laugh was great. there was a real buzz about the place. The fact that people were trying to sunbathe and have a bbq when it was about 10 degrees was hilarious.
What kind of person would want to put a stop to all that with wardens and the like telling people off all day. 90% of people in the Holylands love the craic when it is sunny. Why are we never listened to?
And as for the rubbish there is frig-all more than there normally is.
And as for all the anti-social behaviour such as shouting (a horrible thing, I know)there is always frig-all of that. A lot of the time the Holylands are quite boring compared to all of the myths and legends.
And haul on “let’s play nice” – fights?? Never have I seen a fight in the Holylands. Just another misinterpretation of the Holylands by someone who understands very little of what they speak.
The comment below was emailed to The Gown from the writer of the above letter, David Farrell.
“I am a Life Long Learner (mature student), studying my 10th year of a p/t degree course (at my own expense). unfortunatly, the educational establishment that I study in (QUB), is raping the community that lays in it’s very large shadow. This is no longer the balanced community that I have brought my family and grandchildren up to respect.
QUB are more or less a glorifed estate agent*, rather than a premier ‘Russell Group’, university, looking to attract philanthropic and sponsor/supporter monies, on top of grants and core DEL funding (*£50m+ library built in the Holyland, to massive objection(s), especially from the Rugby Road Residents Association. Also see the plans for QUB to commandeer College Park East (Road), for additional private QUB parking and more buildings. I suspect that this car park will eventually be converted to even more real estate. Look at a map of QUB properties – they stretch from Stockman’s lane area, to Stranmillis, St. Mary’s college and now down to QBIS at Queen’s Island (one of the first clients to take up a business on this site. To manage this amount of mainly Victorian terraced properties must be a huge drain on finances (which could be used to keep fees manageable! etc.).
A more intelligent solution could be:-
Keep the Lanyon and Lynn buildings as a centre of excellence or administration, as well as the tourist factor.
QUB should be in a modern purpose built, hi-tech campus, big enough to expand into the future and designed as an easily manageable student village (with plenty of ‘Halls of residence’ or ‘Purpose built, secure student accomodation (many companies, here and around the world, see this model as a long term secure investment for pension funds), It makes sense to have a vibrant student village away from residential areas and close to the Arts Quarter of Belfast.
I have previously suggested to QUB, UUJ, PSNI, Community Groups and BCC that QUB make this move (and the sooner the better) to join their buisness hub on Queen’s Island.
The jaws of the jaded traditionalist dinosaurs creaked to the floor.
Not only would any idea similar to this be practicle but it would ease traffic conjestion in the city, as Translink would not have to run busses from QUB to Jordanstown (and back) all day long. For some reason the majority of UUJ and Belfast Met., students insist on living where the QUB students are???
Lambs to the slaughter.”
The UUJ students may insist in liveing with Queen’s students because they have to. Jordanstown has only 700 on-campus rooms, while Elms has 1629 rooms (according to the website anyway!)If there aren’t enough rooms in Elms for all Queen’s students then there certainly isn’t enough for UUJ students. Why shouldn’t they want to live in Holylands?
I live round the corner from the bot and eg, and I love it, it’s five min from queens and its cheap accomodation. But there are also plenty of all night parties, drunken students and crime. Sound familiar?
I’m sick to the back teeth with all this Holylands bashing. Students have to be responsible, no matter where they live.
Also, there are plans to launch a pilot CCTV scheme in the Holylands to, and I quote, “reduce crime and fear of crime” in the greater university area.
What does everyone think of this? Please post comments here, Gown is doing a report on this, would like to know everyone’s opinion!
My house in the Holylands is the nicest house I’ve ever lived in, bar my parents’ of course. Not a spot of damp, no plastic floors, the shower is big enough for one person (unlike elm’s ones), there’s a cute wee garden and there are no ceilings caving in (that’s another story). Plus small houses are cheaper to heat, that really isn’t a bad thing. I like it that much, I’m staying here for the next two years!
There is a real sense of student comunity in the holylands, I lived on Wellesley last year and didn’t know any of my neighbours. I’ve met loads of my neighbours here, some of them borrow things others just natter on.
And I have no trouble sleeping when there have parties on my street. My 1st year neighbours have invited me over several times for parties and where I’ve declined they’ve offered to keep the noise down.
I do think most ppl would keep it quiet if residents would just ask politely and not go straight to the phone. But they’d have to be dead on to do that.
PS The CCTV seems a bit stupid since I got a leaflet out to the house which pinpointed where they would be, most of the streets aren’t covered and basically the leaflet just seems to show where not to party and where is “safe.”