We are a big part of the community' Kingston councillors are failing to defend the role of the university for the sake of short-term political gain, the retiring student president has claimed.

Jonathan Chibafa has accused councillors of courting popularity by exploiting some residents' antipathy to the planned Surbiton student village.

Mr Chibafa, who steps down from the year-long post next month, pointed the finger at Surbiton Liberal Democrats for distributing a leaflet saying they backed resident opposition to the village.

He said: "I just hope that local residents can be fully informed and make up their own minds, instead of what appears to be an assumption that all local residents are critical of the growth of the university."

Mr Chibafa argued that local politicians should be more active in explaining to residents the benefits the university brings to the town.

He said: "Sometimes the role of students is only portrayed in terms of drinking culture and noise.

"You don't often see the positive things students do the number of students working in Kingston's restaurants, bars and shops.

"Where we do have problems, we should work together to resolve them."

He said more than 100 students have done voluntary work for local community groups and schools in the past year, and the union has raised £4,300 for local charities.

Mr Chibafa called on councillors to sit down with students and the university and come up with a common message about the relationship between the town and gown.

And he warned that the union intended to encourage more of the university's 15,000 students to vote, which would give them significant political leverage in the borough.

But St Mark's Lib Dem Councillor and executive member Liz Shard said she supported the university but was opposed to the planned student village.

She said: "The reason I don't like the student village is that it's too large an influence on one place when you merge it with Clayhill.

"We get blamed by the student union for being anti-student and we get blamed by residents for letting the university grow without restriction.

"The borough is large enough for the number of students, the trouble is they are all concentrated in certain areas."

Ms Shard said there might be less antagonism with residents if students lived in areas such as New Malden, Chessington and Hook, rather than being concentrated in Kingston and Surbiton.

She suggested Surbiton station car park, which has been earmarked recently for redevelopment, could be a good place for student accommodation.

University students break up for summer on June 25.

sbrody@london.newsquest.co.uk

Accommodating students slap in the face for families, or economic boost?

There are about 15,000 Kingston University students and 5,000 at Kingston College.

But according to the 2001 Census, there were just 8,851 students aged 18 or over living in the borough.

The discrepancy between the figures is because many university students already live in the south-west London or Surrey area, and commute to classes rather than live in the borough.

The university has expanded in recent years and is keen to continue growing to meet Government targets to widen participation in higher education.

Student numbers at the university grew by more than 1,000 last year.

Some residents believe Kingston is too small to accommodate the growing number of students.

Surbiton resident Anne Brown said: "It's a very large number for a small London borough.

"There are other areas of the country which would appreciate the economic gain from students.

"It's out of all proportion when there's such an enormous shortage of homes for local families."

However, a university spokesman said it is a major employer, with 2,000 staff.

He added: "Kingston is a strong and successful university and therefore a big asset to the town.

"It is a driving force in the local economy, with its students being responsible for injecting £52million a year into the region.

"Each student spends an average £4,000 on rent, food, clothing and other consumer goods."