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Is James Owen Court accomodation at Exeter Uni safe?

I am considering applying for James Owen Court for first year accommodation in 2024/2025 (once accommodation applications open) because I need an ensuite room and it's the cheapest ensuite option. But I found some concerning reviews online saying the area it's in is unsafe in terms of drug related crime and assault. They were quite old reviews though so I wanted to see if people still felt this way or if the area might have improved since then?

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

never been a problem, reviews most likely posh private school ppl who never seen a homeless person before. would say tho if you want more a uni social life go on campus, james owen court being close to city centre is plus but very isolated from other accoms. half of james owen is also post grads n internationals

Reply 2

tw559

Original post by Anonymous #1

So James Owen Court is on Sidwell Street, which is admittedly one of the slightly rougher areas in Exeter. I've never had any issues on the street personally but as a relatively tall white guy, mileage may vary with that. You also do have to be aware that, since you are on a high street, if can get quite loud during certain nights as people head back from pubs/clubs/events.
Benefit of location though is you are right in town, so it's easy to head to a lot of shops. If you like watching films as well, you'd also be right next to the Odeon.

Location aside though, James Owen Court is a pretty nice. While not super modern like East Park, the rooms are fairly nice from the few times I've visited them. The beds are all single compared to other accommodations which do sometimes have 3/4 doubles, but if that's not an issue for you then don't worry about it. It is a 20 minute walk from Streatham (give or take) and a 12 minute walk to St. Lukes, so keep that in mind.

Final thing though, just as an assurance based off of what the person said above, while the accommodation is split between postgrad and undergrad, they aren't mixed. Undergrads only live with undergrads and postgrads with postgrads.