BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Royal Holloway is committed to maintaining a positive and effective relationship with the local community. 

We expect all our students, whether living locally or commuting in, to be responsible citizens and to be a positive ambassador for the university. We are aware that the majority of our students contribute postively in a variety of ways to the local community and economy for example through volunteering, charity work, employment, local politics and civic engagement.   

All student houses in Egham and Englefield Green will be mailed a welcome pack in September each year to ensure you have access to the right guidance, advice and support.  These will include: 

• Welcome letter from the Provost & Pro-Vice Chancellor and Directorate of Student Life.
• Introduction leaflet from the Community Wellbeing team with key tips and important advice and a link to our Be a Good Neighbour guide (we have reduced hard copies for sustainability purposes but contact us if you'd like a copy)
• Postcards you can use to introduce yourself to your neighbours

Please read our Be a Good Neighbour guide which contains important advice and guidance about living off campus, expectations about appropriate conduct, tips on happliy living with friends, recipes, parking and travel, how you can contribute to & get involved in the community, and an all important cleaning rota. 

We suggest you seek to develop a friendly and respectful relationship with your neighbours when you move in and introduce yourselves to them early on.  If problems arise try to talk the issues through and sort them out amicably.  If you are doing okay but others down the street are causing large-scale problems, talk to someone in the  Community Wellbeing team or the  Students' Union Advice Centre team to see if we can find a way to resolve challenges. If you do find yourself involved in a dispute with neighbours,  e-mail or come in and talk to us as soon as possible.  We always support the early informal and amicable resolution of concerns

CONDUCT 

The university respects the independence of its students and whilst it is not our role to formally supervise the behaviour of adult students you are expected to abide by our conduct regulations and there are consequences for those who do not behave reasonably. For students who wilfully or repeatedly upset other residents by unreasonable behaviour are not only making life difficult and distressing for those around them, they are also harming the university and disadvantaging future students.

The university works closely with Surrey Police and the Runnymede Borough Council Environmental Health team to ensure those responsible for anti-social behaviour are clearly identified. If students are behaving in a way that is damaging to the university reputation or causing significant impact on the wider community you may be called to a conduct hearing for a suspected breach of the Student Conduct Regulations.

We also expect students to be treated with respect and understanding whilst they are living as part of the community and can offer support and advice to students who feel they are being treated unfairly or inappropriately by others.  If you experience aggressive or threatening behaviour towards you please report this to Surrey Police on 101 - or 999 in an emergency.   

SUPPORTING YOU WITH LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY

We ask students living or passing through the local community to follow our Be A Good Neighbour guidelines so that we are all working together to maintain a harmonious, happy community. 

ROYAL HOLLOWAY RESOURCES

Here are details of the guidance and resources we provide you with to support you in being a good neighbour.

• Be A Good Neighbour guide.
• Community Hello (postcards to introduce yourself to your neighbours).
• Community Wellbeing Top Tips leaflet.
• Welcome to the Community letter. 

RUNNYMEDE BOROUGH COUNCIL RESOURCES 

Runnymede Borough Council Housing team can help with aspects of student housing in the local community. They have produced guidance leaflet for students living in shared houses in Runnymede which you may find useful. They are able to assist by investigating if you are concerned that your property does not have a HMO licence or if there is disrepair which is not being addressed by the landlord.  They can only investigate complaints that relate to disrepair to dwelling, for example, if the boiler is not working or the roof is leaking.  They cannot assist with contractual disputes between tenants and landlord, for example, if a new sofa was promised at the viewing and has not been delivered.

• How can I make sure my rented property is safe? A student guide
• If you wish to contact them you can email the  private sector housing team.

ROYAL HOLLOWAY STUDENTS' UNION RESOURCES

The SU advice team have online advice for all aspects of housing - looking, living and leaving.  Find out more here or contact them at advice@su.rhul.ac.uk

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON RESOURCES

University of London Housing Services produce guides to private sector housing - planning to look for private sector housing, searching for a suitable property, contract checking moving in and resolving issues. They can also provide support with legal advice as needed.  

• University of London Housing Services
• Contract checking guide
• Private housing guide 
• Legal advice

WORKING TOGETHER WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO SUPPORT YOU

AND ENSURE WE ARE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Sharing the importance of our collaborative and supportive working relationship with the Runnymede Neighbourhood Police team, Runnymede Borough Council Environmental Health team and the Students' Union.

 

 

SUPPORTING YOU WITH THE MOVE FROM HALLS TO HOME 

We run our Halls to Home campaign each year to support you in making the transition from living in our halls of residence to becoming a responsible member of the local community living in the private rented sector. 

Find out more here and view our videos on key topics. 

• Bridge the gap
• Boss the bills and bins
• Be a good neighbour 
• Balance the chores (and your volume).

BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR: NOISE NUISANCE AND TRANSIENT NOISE

All residents - including you as students - are entitled to quiet enjoyment of their property at all times and there should be no unreasonable or excessive noise at any time and particular care should be given to preventing disturbance in the evening and night. 

Please remember that you are living amongst a mixed community who will have a variety of needs to maintain their daily lives.  Think about families who have to get children up and ready for school each day, older citizens who may go to bed early, people who work shifts or who have to get up early for work, and people with illnesses or medical conditions who may be at home for long periods of time. 

If you do have friends joining you at your house take some simple steps to prevent causing annoyance, disturbance or upset to others:

• Keep numbers of guests to a managable number and don't invite in people you don't know.
• Have an early conversation with surrounding neighbours if you are celebrating a birthday or similar and agree what is reasonable to everyone.
• Don't allow people to gather outside where any noise, even from talking, is likely to be amplified and travel within the area.
• Try to keep windows and doors shut when you can to prevent disturbance to others.
• If you have music playing speakers are best placed away from walls of adjoining houses and volume should never be excessive.
• When people leave your property ask that they leave the area as quickly as they can and that they are quiet as they walk or travel past other people's houses where they are likely to be asleep. 

NOISE IN A PUBLIC OR OPEN SPACE (TRANSIENT NOISE)

Often people forget about how noise can travel at night when there is less base noise from vehicles, people out walking, televisions etc.  If you are walking through the community at night you should remember that the noise of people talking as they walk together can cause a disturbance to others if you don't keep your voices to a low level.

If you are returning home from a night out with a group keep conversation to a low level - don't shout, scream or sing - as this will definitely wake people up and cause a high level of upset.  Please note that groups of people in the street who are considered rowdy or abusive, or who are causing damage or committing an other crime can be dealt with under anti-social behaviour measures. 

BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR: RESPONSIBLE PARKING AND SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

Royal Holloway seeks to be a good and responsible member of the local community and for our students and staff to contribute positively to this aim. Vehicle use and car parking is a current societal challenge, and we all recognise the need to support responsible and appropriate parking where car use is required, with the promotion of sustainable travel options wherever possible.

SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

During the day, we encourage members of our community who live close to the University to walk or cycle to campus if they can, and it’s safe to do so. We also ask that you consider the option of car-sharing with someone you know and trust to help reduce costs and impact on the environment.

There are bus and train links to many local towns and into central London, of which  you can find further details here: https://intranet.royalholloway.ac.uk/students/campus-life/travel/home.aspx

CAMPUS PARKING PERMITS

If you are a student living more than 1.5 miles from campus, you are entitled to apply for a student campus parking permit.

If you are a student living within the 1.5-mile radius, you can apply for a student out-of-hours parking permit which means you can park on campus between 6pm to 4am (Car parks 4 and 14).

If you are a member of staff, you are entitled to apply for a staff campus parking permit.

If you are a student and have a blue badge, please contact disability@royalholloway.ac.uk for further guidance.

There are no charges for permits and you can apply at www.royalholloway.ac.uk/parking.

RESPONSIBLE DRIVING AND PARKING

All drivers are expected to adhere to the rules of the Highway Code and Road Traffic Act and to pay particular attention to local parking restrictions which are enforceable by Surrey County Council.  This includes considering the safety of others and ensuring full access for drivers and pedestrians on roads and footpaths. Please consider other residents parking and access needs and ensure your vehicle does not impede access to a property or parked in a space allocated for a property.    

ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES

Where there are parking restrictions in place, these are enforced by Surrey County Council. Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) can be issued by civil enforcement officers for vehicles parked on yellow lines, in permit bays without a permit, overstaying in a time limited parking bay, for double parking and for vehicles parked in front of a dropped kerb.

Where parking is dangerous or obstructive, and there are no formal parking controls, the police may act.  This could include parking close to a junction or on a bend or causing an obstruction to a footpath.

For students and staff at the University, there is also a requirement to adhere to the Traffic and Car Parking Policy and the Student Conduct Regulations. Where there is a breach of any of our policies and procedures, enforcement or conduct action will be considered by the relevant team.

BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR: REFUSE, RECYCLING AND SUBSTAINABILITY 

For all households in Egham and Englefield Green it is important that you know and understand the refuse and recycling service provided by Runnymede Borough Council and that your house disposes of your waste in the correct manner. The Council offer a comprehensive refuse & recycling service where refuse and recycling is collected on alternate weeks with food waste collected weekly.

• Week 1: Refuse collected from black wheeled bin AND food waste 
• Week 2: Recycling collected from blue lidded wheeled bin AND food waste 

and so on on alternate weeks. 

You can find the bin collection calendar here and check your bin collection day by entering your postcode here. 

Further information from the Council about household collections can be found here.  

Surrey's zero waste map can be found here.  This helps you identify locations to help you reduce waste, reuse or repair items, and recycle more.

If you have excess waste or recycling please take it to the  Lyne (Chertsey) Community Recycling Centre (or see map below). Please do not leave it by the side of your bin as it will not be collected and the waste may attract pests.

MANAGING YOUR REFUSE AND RECYCLING CORRECTLY 

• Please make sure your wheeled bin is out on your collection day by 06:00; black bin one week, blue lidded bin the next.
• Return the bin back on to your property and off the pavement as soon as possible after collection - the bins must not be left out on the street / pavement.
• Make sure all items are rinsed out and squashed before placing them in your recycling bin.
• All items should be placed loose in your recycling bin and not in plastic bags.  Plastic bags are not recyclable
• Only waste placed inside your bin will be collected.
• Use your silver food caddy to collect food waste in the house. When it is full, transfer the waste food to yout green food bin - which is collected each week. The Surrey Environment Partnership provide more information about reducing your food waste and food waste recycling.
• If you have more than six people living at your property and think you need a larger recycling wheeled bin please contact Runnymede Borough Council who will discuss this with you or your landlord.

Contact information

Runnymede Borough Council: 01932 838383 (option 3 for refuse & recycling)

refuse@runnymede.gov.uk 

www.runnymede.gov.uk

THESE TEAMS WILL TO SUPPORT YOU TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Community Wellbeing, Directorate of Student Life 

• community@royalholloway.ac.uk

Wellbeing Support, Directorate of Student Life

• wellbeing@royalholloway.ac.uk

Advice Centre, Royal Holloway Students' Union 

• advice@su.rhul.ac.uk 

 Runnymede Borough Council Environmental Health

• environmentalhealth@runnymede.gov.uk 

Surrey Police (Runnymede Neighbourhood team)

• Call 101 to speak to them (or 999 in an emergency)
• Report online to Surrey Police.

Runnymede Borough Council Refuse & Recycling

• 01932 838383 (option 3 for refuse & recycling) 

• refuse@runnymede.gov.uk