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You and Yours: University Strikes, Noise Pollution, Romance Fraud

20/02/2020

University Strikes, Noise Pollution, Romance Fraud

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, University Strikes, Noise Pollution, Romance Fraud

Suing over university strikes. Noise pollution problems. Refunding romance fraud victims.

Why one student is suing his university.
Noise problems in houses built too close to businesses.
Refunding money to romance fraud victims.

As university lecturers go on strike today for the third time in two years, we hear from a student who is suing his university for breach of contract and demanding more than £3,000 back in tuition fees because of industrial action. The dispute, which will last for 14 days over a four-week period in February and March, will affect millions of students at 74 universities in the UK.  We speak to Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of the Office for Students, the regulator for higher education in England, about the impact of students taking legal action.

We look at why councils and developers should now be thinking harder now about potential noise nuisance, when they're asked to give planning permission for houses next to existing businesses. The rules were tightened in the summer with the government warning that allowing new homes close to commercial properties can lead to problems and legal action further down the line. We speak to a man who bought a house on a new development in Northampton four years ago who says his home is uninhabitable because it's too close to a very busy industrial estate. We also speak to Cameron Black from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

We return to a story we first reported on last summer about a criminal gang who were convicted of romance fraud, having boasted that they'd conned their victims out of more than £1 million pounds. A court has now ordered five members of the gang to pay back more than £80,000 after Surrey Police managed to trace some of their assets. We speak to Sharon, one of the victims of the fraud, and Detective Constable Becky Mason, one of the investigators on the case.


Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Tara Holmes

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