Agenda item

This is to talk about the impact of the move of the University on the town.

Four scrutiny panels. Homelessness, University, Adult Health Care and Civic.

The 31^st -next week.

People are sent a series of questions and they reply to those questions.

Main issues are parking in Far Cotton, it is one of the main entrances to the university. There is park and ride but students and lecturers do not seem to be using it and instead they are using the streets nearby.

Also, Northampton are on County Lines, this basically means we are in a good place to move drugs through. Does the university being right in the centre of the town have an impact on this etc.

There have been incidents with fireworks and also cameras that can see into resident’s houses etc.

PW: Has anybody been affected by the University move?

SB: Yes I think positively, but on the other hand I do think there could be more to bring the community together.

MW: I think our young people feel threatened as there are so many new people in the town, I have had people come up to me saying this. The influx of new people in this area may be too much for some. Also young people saying it is harder to find the weekend jobs etc.

PW: It is useful to know, there may be a ‘them and us divide’ for some. There will be these problems, but the development, growth and development of the town needs to include both local people and students to try and find an understanding.

MW: Small things like the Morrison’s car parking becoming very busy from visitors.

AR: I don’t think paying for parking is an issue, there is no parking full stop and if you have a meeting there, you then have to give them your detail prior to going.

Massive issues to race and gender. Huge increase in the BAME community and this is not reflected within the staff. One thing they could do is actively work to develop relationships with BAME communities within the town. It is harder for them to find support groups for those individuals when they may be struggling. Women also need to be empowered more to understand about consent. People can submit their negative experiences which will lead to a report with recommendations, closes mid-February.

PW: We have been talking about a community pack that as a group we could help come to life, to help those people who may need help but do not want to use the university services. We could all compile information and pull together useful contacts for young women and diverse groups at the university.

Co-Chair is Cllr King, we can pick up this discussion with her.

MW: A start could be Dr. Deborah Mattock at the university.

NAS: IHWO were informed that the church group organises a lunch for new students in September, we tried to do this for international students, we had trouble getting the word out through the university. We tried and wanted to do it free as a welcome to Northampton but it wasn’t well received for some reason.

When we are talking about safety for girls, the bells and alarms etc are a start.

RP: I have tried to get involved with the Islamic community through the university and there wasn’t any progress unfortunately.

AR: This is a university that has a good reputation on employment which will be very appealing to BAME families.

SB/RP: It is also a cheap town and very central.

SB: Did a survey at a job fair, about what is important them. Most feedback was regarding LGBTQ rather than gender and race.

AR: They got rid of their equality and diversity officer a few years ago and never replaced them.

SBa: TWG is a National body, opened their first student group in Coventry. A lot of them felt insecure and in need of help. We give them the office phone number and whenever they need help, they can call and we can contact the necessary people to get them the help they need. This may be something that could be implemented in Northampton.

PW: Yes, this is something that could be included in the pack and when we meet the right person, we can explain all the positive things we are trying to do to improve the support services for young women.

SJ: Contacted by the university, I volunteer for a free mental health organisation. They had a student who they couldn’t support so they contacted me, it is quite shocking that they do not have anything in place to help these young people.