► Lansdown, 20 Oct: 'Last night was worst for years'
(18025) Loud party in terraced house near south end of street, with many people present, some at rear of house and some in the street at the front. Event started late on Friday evening and continued into the early hours of Saturday. Three residents have filed complaints to the University of Bristol. I observed the party myself at a little after 1am (having been notified by two of the complainants). On Saturday afternoon I distributed flyers in Lansdown and Brighton Roads inviting residents who were affected to contact me. (Brighton Road houses back on to Lansdown.)
Brighton Road resident (first complainant): "The noise is exceptional where it can be heard inside my home. My neighbours with small children sleeping in bedrooms at the back of the house have already spoken to them twice over the rear wall asking them to turn the music down but this hasn't had any effect ... There are students out in the rear garden shouting and girls screeching ... This is not the first time that they have had a party, they had one last week."
The second complainant says he spoke to the students earlier in the evening. "They confirmed they were UoB students, seemed genuinely concerned the music and noise might be a nuisance, and promised they would limit any disturbance ..." The resident says he "gave them leeway" until "about 11.45pm, when what looked like dozens of students arrived, shouting and milling around on the street, in the front garden, and coming in and out of the house." The resident spoke again to one of the students but says: "I’m afraid his persistent apologies rang increasingly hollow, and left me exasperated and angry." He goes on to describe "what is happening right now, at 2.00am, with students in the street calling to each other, shouting and swearing, and the music still thumping out. In fact, some are taking a perverse delight in annoying as one loud voice in the street has called out 'let’s keep them all awake'. ... How are we residents supposed to deal with this? Students listen, you explain how large, crowded and noisy parties that go on all night aren’t suitable for a residential area, that they disturb so many—the old, those who are ill or with young children, the very people who can’t ask them to be quiet, let alone those who have to work the next day—yet we're left with just having to suffer the torture of disturbed nights with no sleep."
Third complainant: "During one 5-minute [period] after midnight, I counted 6 separate young men urinating in their own and neighbouring gardens and street side. Until after 2am there were large groups of people in the street talking noisily whilst going in and out of no. [xx]. One of the male residents policed their own front door, necessary due to the huge volume of attendees and [there] was a futile attempt to contain the loud music and noise ... in addition to these, the front door was constantly being banged shut into the early hours! I also witnessed people coming ... to snort drugs by the bins at the junction of Lansdown Road and Kensington Road."
Other responses:
► "Last night was a total nightmare, the worst for many years. A large group of students sat on the walls outside no [xx] and no [xx]. I hoped they would leave but at 3.00 they were still screaming and shouting. I pulled on some clothes and went out to tell them to stop. They said they were sorry and all went inside. However ten minutes later they came out again and the shouting and screaming started again. At 3.30, I gave up and moved to a room at the back of the house. I am 73 and have a heart condition. I felt really unwell and could not calm down and get to sleep for an hour or so. This was quite unacceptable."
► A respondent who lives in Lansdown Road very close to No. [xx] says she was at home during the evening, and, having been notified of the event beforehand, she was prepared for the likelihood of some noise: "I did not attend the party ... but believe it was quite tame and there was not much excessive noise ... I don’t believe that this event caused any problems."
Updated, 21/10/18: I'm told the police visited the house on Saturday to speak to the students. I have also received additional comments:
► "We live in Brighton Road and it seems as though this year it is just getting worse already. It is unfair that people think this type of behaviour is okay. With complete disregard for other people and their lives. At 3am they were still partying and the music loud as ever." This resident also mentions a previous party—the property isn't specified—which went on until 5am.
"We work full time and have to be up early. I have slept with earplugs in for 2 weeks."
► "I just wanted to comment on the no. [xx] party on Saturday night. I did hear some noise from the party, but it was not nearly enough to warrant the backlash I saw from the community. I saw that the residents were trying very hard to contain the noise, and were really quite stressed at the fact that they received some complaints, and turned away any newcomers after the first one. On my way back from the pub at about 12pm, I saw an active effort from them to contain the party. As a student myself you may think that I am sympathising with the residents but truthfully the event didn't affect me or the residents I was staying with."
► "Just to say we were disturbed throughout the early hours of the morning on 20 October by people up and down the street (sometimes right outside our house) screaming and shouting. For us it started around midnight when we arrived home by taxi ... and about 10 young people passed us screaming and shouting."
Updated 23/10/18: Further response received:
► A resident reports that, "walking home from the pub at about midnight I clearly heard the party noise from Zetland Road onwards. I walked past and noticed about 10-20 people in the front garden and street."
Note: I have also made minor formatting changes using bold text and bullets to make for easier reading, plus I changed the word "resident" to "respondent" in the last bullet of the first section (before the first update). When I use the word "resident" I mean someone living in the area on a permanent or long-term basis, which was probably not an accurate description of this particular person. Students are also residents and may legitimately use that word to describe themselves, as another respondent does, but they are usually resident on a short-term basis. I changed the description in the paragraph in question to try to avoid confusion about which point of view is being represented, bearing in mind that whether you are resident on a long-term or short-term basis is a key factor in perceptions about the severity of the noise issue.