For better and worse, Durham’s student population has an impact on locals

‘Durham is still a fine place to live, with riverside walks, cinemas, a new bus station, a railway station, a hospital and many other amenities within walking distance,’ writes Alan Pearson. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

“Nice cathedral. Shame about all of the students,” a visitor to Durham told me earlier this year. It’s a feeling held by many of the remaining residents of the city too. Durham is a small city, and the colonisation of residential properties by students in the very small centre is referred to in Benjamin Myers’ article (My home town: how Durham changed under Conservative rule, 9 July).

The unfettered growth in Durham University numbers over the last decade means the student population exceeds 22,000, including about 5,000 international enrolments. Unfortunately, this growth in the ability to teach more students has not been paralleled with the university’s ability to accommodate them. This has had a dramatic effect on the demography of the city, as well as a big reduction in council tax receipts needed to maintain public infrastructure.