Neighbours of Northampton student halls say they 'dread' sunnier months in face of noisy parties

The residents in Malthouse Close live less than 100m from the university - and say they are tired of noisy parties.

The unseasonably warm weather this week has brought some of the year's first picnics to Northampton's parks and gardens.

But for the residents of Malthouse Close, it only meant being neighbours to a '10-hour-long' party booming from the student halls not 100 metres away.

Malthouse Close borders the new student village that was built as part of the University of Northampton's Waterside Campus to house some 1,300 students.

An aerial photo showing the distance between Malt House Close and the student halls.

On Tuesday (February 26), the students also got out to enjoy the sun - but the residents had to listen to the revelry too.

One neighbour said: "It can go on for hours. Music is booming, people are screaming and the language you hear is foul."

The party stretched into the evening too - where a DJ with a speaker set added to the noise.

The party was reportedly broken up at around 9pm by the University of Northampton's security team, and all told lasted around 10 hours after first kicking off that morning.

The end of Malt House Close is seperated from the university by a wooden fence. Beyond is a student halls complex for some 1,300 people.

A University of Northampton: “On Tuesday evening a number of people had gathered to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Our security team attended and requested that the music be turned off out of concern for our neighbours, and the group had dispersed by 8.30pm."

The students also reportedly asked to keep noise to a minimum overnight as part of their residency agreements, and security patrols have the power to confiscate audio equipment if this is not obeyed.

However, the residents say they must still endure students who go out and come home from nights out on the town after midnight nearly every day.

One resident, who has lived in Malthouse Close for 13 years, said: "I'm fed up of hearing them. I'm dreading the warmer months now because it will just be more parties and more noise.

"Since the university has moved in the street has been filled with students' cars. If you say anything to them the response you get can be downright abusive.

"I know they're young, and how is the university meant to control 1,300 or more students? But as a whole, the students don't show their neighbours respect.

"Some say we should just move away. I think you'll find we were here first."