Patchy Queen's Lawn causes complaints
The grass on Queen’s Lawn has been suffering greatly due to an excess of events being held on the space, resulting in student complaints. In recent months, it has hosted the drinks reception for Imperial’s Postgraduate Graduation. Heavy rainfall has also caused the grass to be waterlogged. Ultimately the grass has been left patchy and brown.
Pablo Duran Millan, a first year Design Engineering student at Imperial, complained to the university’s Estates team about the poor maintenance of Queen’s Lawn, and told Felix that the huge tents had “ruined” the grass. He complained that there was “not enough space when the sun comes out.”
Nic Dent, Acting Head of Soft Services at Imperial College London, told Felix that the maintenance of Queen’s Lawn has been more difficult this year, as the grass was already in a poor condition due to last summer’s heat-wave. Dent is currently waiting to find out how much it would cost to improve the lawn.
A College spokesperson told Felix: The Queen’s Lawn is used to hold events such as Graduation receptions for students, which has an impact on the condition of the grass. We appreciate that the lawn is a valuable green space on campus and we make efforts where possible to allow the grass to recover between uses. Unfortunately, the longer period of hot weather last year has made this more of a challenge than usual. The College will be working to re-establish the lawn and is currently in the process of working out the best method and time to do this to minimise disruption the works may have on staff and students. In the meantime, we encourage our community to make use of green space at Prince’s Gardens and in the surrounding area."
