Event on Saturday, 14th June, 2025

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Last year local residents gathered to have their photo taken at the gates of Royal Holloway to express their dissatisfaction with the Senior Leadership Team’s poor management.  The event was a great success and we are doing it again.

If you are concerned about parking in the community, the university’s ASB policy or have concerns about the proliferation of HMOs and their impact on the community, you are invited to join us.

We need a better Royal Holloway not a bigger Royal Holloway

Why A Photocall?

Our community representatives are aware of the issues associated with the expansion of Royal Holloway and are currently engaged in a series of meetings with the university to help find solutions.  These meetings came about in part as a result of last year’s successful action.

We now want to remind Royal Holloway’s Senior Leadership Team (RHSLT) that local residents continue to be adversely impacted by their poor management and that they should be delivering mitigations as a matter of urgency.

A Message To Royal Holloway Students and Staff

We Need To Talk About Royal Holloway was set up by local residents concerned about the adverse impact of Royal Holloway’s expansion on the community.

The group has no issue with students or staff – it does though, have an issue with the RHSLT and its poor planning.  Indeed, one of the major issues for residents is shared with you – Parking. Parking has made it onto the Students’ Union’s Priority 8.  Growing the student population by 28% whilst reducing car parking capacity by 9% in a 10 year period is bound to cause problems for all when targeting the ‘commuting student’.

So please be assured that our group is not anti-student.  Students and staff are a welcome addition to the community and have been for many years.  It is not your fault that the current RHSLT under the leadership of Julie Sanders (and her predecessor, Paul Layzell) has shown scant regard for the community resulting in the resentment towards the Royal Holloway brand and its management that now exists.  Click here for more information.

The Issues:  There are three main issues that need to be addressed:

Parking – The lack of provision on campus has led to the Egham & Englefield Green communities becoming the unofficial overspill car park. Students, staff and guests regularly use the streets near campus to park. Local residents subsequently find it difficult to park and not only wonder why they find themselves in this position but argue amongst themselves of how to deal with the problem. For more information on the Parking issue, click here.

HMOs – Poor planning by the university management has led to a shortage of accommodation now filled by a buoyant student HMO market. High densities of HMOs have adverse impacts on a community: impacts ranging from visible socio-economic harms such as poorly maintained properties and excess rubbish to the less visible impacts such as declining school numbers and the creation of an economic desert during vacation periods. To read more on the issues with HMOs, click here.

ASB – Royal Holloway’s poor history of managing ASB and noise in the street has led to many local residents living in misery.  Indeed, many have left the community altogether because of this.  Royal Holloway rarely enforces its student conduct policy and obfuscates the issue. More information on the ASB issue can be found by clicking here.