LAST week we reported how county councillor Richard Udall had launched a remarkable attack on the University of Worcester, labelling it "a curse" on the people of Worcester.

We said in this column last Tuesday that we felt his savaging of the university was unnecessary, though we recognised there were serious issues related to parking for residents living near the campus.

Today we delve deeper into the issues raised by Councillor Udall and it is clear there is a divide between those who believe the university is a force for good in Worcester and those who live in areas like St John's.

Our stance, as we expressed last week, is one of support for the university. But we repeat again that more needs to be done to help local residents who find their streets clogged up with parking.

The responsibility for finding solutions to this problem does not rest with the university alone.

It could, of course, consider making parking at its Oldbury Road campus free but we accept that this would bring significant revenue implications and that the car park is certainly not big enough to cope anyway.

The university continues to do what it can to alleviate the problems, including spending money on more parking spaces and donating money to the local authorities to help.

Solutions such as residents' parking schemes or double yellow lines in problem areas that only apply between, say, 10am and 11am (when most students are arriving for lectures) could help immensely but they have to be provided by the council.

These problems should not be insurmountable. All that is required is a little joined-up thinking.