Holland Club change on the cards

Potential plans for a proposed renovation of the Holland Club have been provided as part of the area’s ongoing feasibility study this week. The Holland Club Committee has voiced its disapproval over what it considers to be a lack of communication from those in charge of the study, while Imperial College Union President Scott Heath has stated his desire to consider the views of students under any potential changes to the set-up and running of the establishment.

The plans, which have not yet been confirmed, propose a significant change in layout to the current Holland Club, with the plans documenting a transformation of the staff bar into a ‘café bar’, ‘bar extension’ and ‘cellar pub’. According to the plans, this would allow for an increase in room space from the current 193.9m2 of the Holland Club bar to 349.2m2 for the three additions. There has not, however, been any indication as to whether the proposed spaces would be exclusive to either staff or students.

The Holland Club committee met on Monday with Project Director Jane Neary, project champion Stephen Richardson, Dan Curtis senior project manager, along with representatives from Imperial College Union where the plans were presented. Following the meeting, Manager of the Holland Club, Kevin Young told Felix that: “We could quite easily provide the services they are asking for with our present setup, we just need to invest in some paint and catering equipment, furniture down stairs and a general tidy up and improved disabled access which I think could be done quite easily and a lot more cost effective.”

The Committee has also expressed its dismay over the date of a meeting of the Portfolio Review Board (PRB) – which oversees projects in Buildings, ICT and Facilities Management – being brought forward from the second quarter of 2012 to February 24. At this meeting the results of the feasibility study will be reviewed.

The committee has made an accusation of “blatant skulduggery” against this, with a representative going on to say: “This crucial date of the project process was not even mentioned at Monday’s meeting and was only elicited from the Deputy Rector last night when we requested at least 2 weeks notice (as opposed to 4 working days) to formulate an official response from the Holland Club committee over the proposed building plans.”

Imperial College Union President Scott Heath emphasised that he was open to discuss the plans in whatever form they will eventually take, telling Felix that “there is no guarantee of what the space will become. If it ultimately becomes a postgraduate space, we will want to see that postgraduate students are represented.”

“I see lots of advantages with the proposed changes. One is disability access, and the second is huge flexibility with the room. In addition there is a potential for food service, which frees up the Queen’s Tower Rooms, which in turn frees them up for club activity. The new space would fit one and a half times the Holland Club in its current layout.”

Heath stated his hope that any new space would provide a “common room space for taught postgraduates, who are excluded from the Senior Common Room and may feel uncomfortable in the Holland Club.”

There’s no benefit to getting rid of a social facility and replacing it with nothing Scott Heath – Imperial College Union President

“It’s to everyone’s benefit that we get [any change to the Holland Club] right. There’s no benefit to getting rid of a social facility and replacing it with nothing.”

The Graduate Students’ Assocation will be holding an open panel next Thursday (February 16) at 6pm for a discussion on the future of both the Holland Club and Clayponds, where the Union President will be in attendance along with Mr Young. The proposed floor plans will be made available at the meeting, and Heath hopes to launch a survey to determine what students would like to space to become should changes come into action, including such choices as a café bar or a “common room space”.