Residents of the city of Groningen called ‘students’ one of the most important themes for next March’s council elections. Not in a positive sense: students make a mess and too much noise, people say.
This is the result of a survey on the city council elections. The city asked its residents to rank the most important themes for the March 16, 2022 elections. ‘Students’ are in fifth place, appearing on the list for the first time.
The average age of Groningen inhabitants is the lowest in the country. Of the more than 230,000 residents, 60,000 are students at the UG and Hanze University of Applied Sciences. This means roughly one in four inhabitants of the city is a student. While this means Groningen is a lively city, it’s also led to annoyances over the past few years.
Student houses
Most complaints by inhabitants concern bicycles that are in the, noise and trash, and international students. In the survey, people say they want fewer student houses in ‘normal’ neighbourhoods and more housing at places like Zernike.
Last year as well as this year, residents of the Schildersbuurt complained about partying students making noise well into the night. People living in neighbourhoods the Zeeheldenwijk, Korrewegwijk, and the city centre have made similar complaints.
This led to the city blacklisting 135 student houses last year: if they cause any more nuisance, the students living in these houses will immediately be fined.