It has been a tumultuous week for the Union. While the new bar FiveSixEight has opened with great success and a generally positive response from students, the new club Metric has been further delayed by the discovery of asbestos.

Metric was due to open this coming Friday 29th of October but the opening will now be pushed back to the end of November. The delay will disappoint students who, after experiencing the renovated bar, were excited to see the new club.

Deputy President (Finances & Services) Ravi Pall told Felix: “the risk of exposure to the workers in that area means that only certain parts of the space can be occupied, while the asbestos material is removed, leading to a delay in works”.

The discovery of asbestos is the second setback to the club renovation. It was originally intended to open in time for Welcome Week but problems with removing the pillar meant that the construction could not be completed over the summer as originally intended.

Ravi Pall said “While this delay is a unfortunate, it must be understood that this project has thrown up a huge range of challenges that could not have been predicted.” Disruption has also affected several Clubs & Societies who were planning to run their own events in the new space.