Hi there!
I'm a current third-year in linguistics and I would say rest assured if you like the place there's nothing to be worried about. In the past years it is true that the University was heading away from students and focusing only on money etc., wanting to close small departments, cut student services etc etc. But that has changed since, there is a new Vice Chancellor who really seems to be doing a much better, and more student focused, job. A lot of things have improved drastically just over the last year (especially for the Linguistics department) and there are better things to come yet. So don't worry about that 4/10, I don't think that reflects things as they currently are. Also you have to look at the departments you are going to, and our Linguistics department, at least from a student perspective, is really a good place to study. From this year on there are three new permanent staff as well, so I guess the teaching will get even better. They focus a lot on Cognitive Linguistics, which is maybe not completely the traditional thing you get at most other uni's in the UK, but seen by many as the way forward. So for the course I would say it's a thumbs up from me, especially because the lecturers are really interested and helpful too.
I hope that addresses your basic concerns. If you have any more questions, just ask and I will try to answer best I can.