Residents disagree over campus expansion plan

The planned expansion of a Surrey university is "socially and economically unsustainable" for local residents, according to one councillor.

Concerns have been raised over the impact on parking and accommodation in the area by Royal Holloway University's plans to grow the student population to 15,000 - in an area of about 26,000 residents.

However, many residents in Egham told BBC Radio Surrey they welcomed the expansion.

The university's student union president, Hannah Hockin, encouraged those with concerns to "come and talk to Royal Holloway".

A protest was held at the college during an open day for prospective students on 8 June.

The college, part of the University of London, is set in 135 acres of parkland in Egham, Surrey, and currently has more than 12,000 registered students.

It has said its relationship with the local community is important.

"We are committed to being civic minded, working together to support our wider community," it said.

But local councillor Andrea Berardi said: "The uncontrolled expansion of RHUL is socially and economically unsustainable for both Englefield Green and Egham."

Mr Berardi, an independent councillor for Englefield Green East, whose wife is a professor at Royal Holloway, said he is a "steadfast supporter of the residents' campaign" against the expansion.

Campaigners are particularly concerned about houses of multiple occupation (HMO).

Local resident Steve Pollard, who set up a website called We Need to Talk about Royal Holloway, said a lack of accommodation provided by the college for students has led to a large market for HMOs.

He said: "We're seeing family homes being bought up and turned into student accommodation and that’s having a long term impact on the community."

Hannah Hockin, from the university's student union, told BBC Radio Surrey the university had community call in sessions which residents could attend.

Ms Hockin also highlighted how "not all 12,000 students are on the Egham campus at once" with students having different lecture times.

She added that students give back to the community with 11,000 hours of volunteering. The activities include litter picking and charity shop volunteering.

Mr Berardi said HMOs below five individuals "don’t require planning permission" so "anybody" can convert properties into student accommodation.

He said the number of homes available for families have been reduced and as a result "school registration numbers have crashed".

Parking is also a "major issue", Mr Berardi said, because when staff and students are unable to find parking on the campus they spill over into the village which causes "a lot of stress".

In response to parking issues and anti social behaviour Ms Hockin said "it’s quite rare and it's actually decreasing, so it's not a massive issue".

A spokesperson from Royal Holloway, University of London, said: "We are grateful to all the visitors who came to our historic Egham campus this weekend for our open day.

"We hope that traffic delays from disruption outside our campus did not detract from their experience, or cause inconvenience to our neighbours."

"Every year, our students work hard for their community by providing around 11,000 hours of volunteering every year to local projects.

"Due to our open communications with the community, we have seen a reduction in complaints year on year."

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