AN MP has renewed his warning to a leading university to stop relying on greedy landlords to fill an accommodation gap.

Gerry Steinberg has again urged Durham University to come up with positive solutions to ease the housing problems in his city constituency.

The MP revealed he is now to meet key members of the university in a bid to resolve what he sees as a spiralling crisis.

Mr Steinberg said following his comments in the Press, many people had contacted him expressing anxieties.

It was the university's unexpected enrolment of an additional 200 students which earlier prompted the MP to predict that local people would be forced out of the already overpriced community.

Quiet residential areas, he said, were being turned into student-dominated neighbourhoods and complaints had also highlighted the actions of a number of students who were indulging in rowdy and unsociable behaviour.

"Local residents are the ones having to endure the consequences, not the landlords and agents who are making a healthy profit, nor the university, which has failed to sufficiently cater for its own students," he said.

"Despite a massive increase in its intake over the past 20 years, the university has not significantly increased its accommodation provision, creating a market for those willing to profit from the deficiency.'

"The problems being experienced are appalling. It is high time the university stopped being so complacent and took positive steps, instead of relying on greedy landlords to fill the accommodation gap with no consideration for other residents.''

Yesterday the university hit back, pointing out that it had one of the highest proportions of students living in university accommodation in the UK.

A spokesman said it was Government policy which controlled the increase in student numbers and Durham had played its part in providing these extra opportunities.

But he said the collegiate university had built new accommodation as fast as it could afford adding 1,000 student rooms over the past decade with current plans to provide a further 1000 by 2006.

He invited residents to call a 24-hour community hotline on 0191-334 2222 with any problems.

President of the Students Union Craig Jones last night defended the student population who he said contributed greatly to the economic welfare of the City.

While Mr Jones accepted that behavioural problems arose from time to time it was he said confined to a "negligible minority.''

He said Mr Steinberg had chosen to ignore the goods work, including charity work in schools, hospitals and the community, which was carried out by the predominantly well behaved student body