Protest over Garden closure
Students show support for Garden Hall as future looks unclear
Students are campaigning against the closure of Garden Hall, following reports that it may be turned into office space. The students who started the campaign to save the hall were living in it at the time as either hall seniors or freshers. They have created an online petition, which, following its inception earlier this week, has 725 supporters (at time of going to print).
The petition is directed at Sir Keith O’Nions, President & Rector of Imperial College London. It talks of the students’ “great concern” over the possibility of the hall being shut. It goes on to say, “Student priorities regarding accommodation are clear: (1) proximity and (2) affordability. According to Imperial’s accommodation strategy (Council, 10/2/12), we seek to provide students with “choice in rents”, “proximity to campus”, “bedspace type”, “facilities” and seek “ownership of freehold”. Evidently Garden Hall meets spectacularly all the above.” The petition states that Garden Hall is popular amongst students and is always in demand as there are never empty rooms and it is always oversubscribed. Imperial College Union have confirmed that it is the most oversubscribed hall at Imperial.
The students have made signs and posters and stuck them up in their rooms and around campus. There are big “SOS” letters in the windows of the rooms and kitchens, and there are many “Save Garden Hall” posters visible from the outside. The atmosphere at the hall while taking a photo of students outside was one of worry, uncertainty, anger, and general confusion over any potential closure of Garden. Students were motivated and determined to make their views heard by College.
Speaking outside Garden, Union President, Paul Beaumont, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many students being vocal, especially because they won’t actually be here when Garden closes, so it’s great to see so many people looking out for the welfare of future students”. Temi Ladega, CGCU President, said that he was “extremely disappointed with what College are doing”. He went on to say: “I think it’s time that College start caring about students and not just their finances”. Many of the Garden residents expressed their dismay as well. Tim Lam, a 1st year, said, “the possible closure of Garden Hall makes me feel like Imperial doesn’t care about students at all and makes me think that maybe the people in charge are just money driven”. Rebecca Rove, a 3rd year hall senior, said that the location and price were key. She said that it allowed her to participate more in university life than she could if she were further away. She went on to say, “If cheap rooms were not available in my first year I would not have chosen to come to Imperial”.
Garden Hall is in a listed building and is the most oversubscribed hall; it houses 84 students in a mixture of single, double and triple rooms. These rooms form some of the cheapest accommodation options on offer at Imperial. It recently emerged that there is the possibility of it closing to become office space or anything else needed. The reason given is that space is tight on the South Kensington campus. It was claimed that the hall is in need of refurbishing and is not in a good state. The students living there, however, seem to be happy enough with it. The petition closes with the following plea: “Please return student priorities to the centre, keep Garden Hall and invest in this important space. This will mean a great deal to students and staff.”
It is known that College are going to be discussing Garden Hall and its future on 20 March. This meeting will be one of the Management Board’s regular meetings. The Management Board is one of the most senior boards in College and is chaired by the President & Rector. The Union have requested to be allowed to attend this to allow their point of view to be put forward. The Union have sent a letter to the President & Rector. At time of going to print, they have not received a reply.
The protest comes in the wake of the news about new halls being planned in Acton, which was denounced by many students due to distance and cost. There is also the possibility that the halls in Evelyn Gardens could be closed as the lease has just over 30 years left on it, and the negotiations with the Wellcome Trust, who own the lease, appear to reportedly indicate that they are not willing to extend the lease. The College, at the minute, seem unwilling to renovate the halls unless there is an extension. The lease will be worth less and less as it gets closer to the end.
