This morning I had a meeting with the new President of Reading University Students Union, Karl Hobley and Steph Johnson, Vice President, Welfare.
I have been working closely with RUSU since 2006 on a range of issues affecting students including polling stations, streetlighting and the standard of private rented housing.
I know both Karl and Steph quite well (I worked with Steph last year when I was Lead Member for Housing) and I've known Karl for a few years through mutual friends at Reading University.
I briefed them both about the Council's plans to consult on potentially bringing in an Article Four directive to cover HMOs in the University area and the Council's planned consultation on improving traffic and parking in the University and Hospital area.
Both these issues could potentially impact on students and it is vital that the voices of students are heard. I thought it was important to flag this issue to RUSU as early as possible as sometimes they can miss out on Council consultations.Students are residents in the area too and should be treated fairly.
We had a useful discussion about student housing and the University's accommodation plans. It remains to be seen whether the new Student Village on Kendrick Road will reduce the demand for student housing in the community. Cost may make this option less attractive to students as it first appears.
Rogue landlords continue to be a problem and as ever RUSU and ourselves are on hand to support students who run into difficulties with their accommodation.
Finally we touched on the problem of burglaries in the University area. I talked about the work I'm doing to support Police efforts and I was pleased to hear the Students Union plan to campaign to raise awareness amongst students about how they can increase their personal safety.
It is vitally important that the Students Union and councillors work together for the benefit of students and the community. I am pleased to have been able to play my part in this today.

