Fisher Halls are Fishy

Much of last year’s #AgainstActon campaign focused on the impending closure of Evelyn Gardens’ Fisher Hall. The huge campaign lasted months but the plans to create the halls were continued. In 2011, the college announced that the Fisher Hall was no longer required. This was due to the completion of Prince’s Gardens halls, which means that there was a surplus of bed spaces. As a result, they and the Wellcome Trust (the owners of the building) submitted a proposal to convert Fisher Hall into a care home. A couple of years later, in 2013, the college surprised the Union by announcing that more bed spaces were now needed as they would be closing Garden Hall too. To make up this deficit, they put forward a proposal to build a 700-bed accommodation-only campus in North Acton, which is a 40 minute commute each way from South Kensington. The College claimed that it would cost around £10 million to refurbish the hall for students, and thus the conversion into a care home was more financially viable. It is well known that Fisher Halls’ current state is less than adequate and could be seen as unsuitable for the elderly and disabled. The director of Campus Services, Jane Neary, told Felix in 2011 that the reason for the closure was ‘not that [the hall isn’t] good enough, it’s completely legal [in terms of upkeep]’, adding that ‘we’ve done all the urgent work’.

Upon inspection by an Imperial student, it was noted that there was a large area of exposed wiring on one of the stairwells. A large number of electrical components did not appear to have been tested in line with these regulations. The testing certificates indicated that they were due for testing in August 2012, but as of June 2013, the certificates had not been replaced. Some appliances were three years past their due date. The college states that “all college owned appliances are tested annually and all wiring is tested every five years”. Asbestos is another concern in Fisher hall. A second year Physicist explains that he is uncomfortable with the asbestos-filled fire doors. “You push them and they bang against the wall and then hit you in the face” he says, explaining that he’s not sure that the asbestos is safe in doors which receive such strong knocks and are damaged in places. In addition, the lack of central heating means that many of the rooms are heated with wall-mounted fan heaters, which are past their PAT testing date. They become extremely hot to the touch and when left on, smell distinctly smoky and are even reported to have set off the fire alarms. Sometimes, they tend to fail in the winter, which leaves the room at a temperature below the 20°C that the college states halls will be kept at whilst occupied. When a Hall Supervisor inspected one room, the only flaw in an otherwise sub-par room where the origami birds hanging from the fire tube. She stated that they were ‘very dangerous’ and ‘must be removed immediately’. All other serious issues with the room went by unnoticed. In addition to not adhering to the college’s promises on electrical safety, Fisher Hall currently presents poorly kept environment for students to live in and is a completely different image from the immaculate rooms in Prince’s Gardens that are shown to prospective students on Open Days. (As of June 2013)

Update from Campus Services

The College routinely carries out maintenance to ensure students’ accommodation meets required safety standards. Updates on some of the issues identified in the photographs:

The date shown on the 2012 sticker is a recommended timeframe. It is not currently unsafe despite the date having passed. All circuits and fuse boards are scheduled to be tested this term, and any remedial work will be carried out as required.

Fixed appliance testing was carried out in Fisher hall in September 2012, including on the wall mounted heaters shown in picture 2. The next test is due later this month. It appears that the heaters have not been stickered correctly. Imperial’s electrical contractors now tend to keep electronic records/registers rather than apply stickers, which tend to fall off. The accommodation team should have arranged for old stickers to be removed, however.

There were a number of telephone junction boxes in the Hall that are redundant (photo 6). These have already been removed or are in the process of being removed, as per picture 4.

Damage to the window frame pictured is due to condensation. Accommodation staff continue to monitor the situation and students with any concerns can contact their Hall Supervisor if they have any concerns. Similarly damage to the ceiling, as shown in one of the photographs, was due to a defect on the roof, allowing water through. That defect has been fixed, the peeling paint removed and the accommodation team are closely monitoring it.

College Spokesperson