Furness College was plunged into confusion just days before Freshers’ Week as conflicting stories emerged as to whether their bar would be open in time.
The bar, affectionately known to staff and students alike as ‘Trev’, has been undergoing refurbishment since Intro Week last year. The refurbishment has led to a year of upheaval for the College, which looks to be continuing into the start of this academic year.
Information surfaced just two weeks ahead of Intro Week to suggest that the bar would not be ready in time. As a result, Furness College JCR, with the assistance of LUSU, were forced to adopt contingency plans to move their events away from the unfinished space.
However, four days before Intro Week – and just as this newspaper was about to go to print – it was announced that the bar would in fact be finished.
Angus Wakefield, Furness JCR President, told SCAN of the predicament his team had been currently face. He said: “Firstly, I’d like to say that it’s obviously a huge disappointment that Furness College has been put in this situation so close to Intro Week, with a large amount of uncertainty surrounding the opening of the space. I know that everyone involved in the college is desperate to see it opened as soon as possible. We have shown with events like Extrav, however, that we can make great use of other space available to us and that our Freshers will still get the best out of their Intro Week experience”
Wakefield confirmed to SCAN that his college will adopt their revised plans and hold Freshers’ Week events away from Furness Bar. He said: “We are running with our contingency plans of putting the events we were going to have elsewhere because we can guarantee those spaces are free. If Trev is open, the choice has been given to the JCR as to whether or not we use Trev instead. If everything is complete and the building is safe, we will certainly move in there and have a grand opening during the first term”
He continued: “I’d just like to thank LUSU, Furness JCR and SCR and everyone else involved with making sure that the week will be just as successful with or without Trev. I also want to thank those who are working hard in order to try and reopen Trev in time for Intro Week events and this effort shows how much the space means to the college, and how much the bar means to the university life.”
The University’s Facilities department, who are responsible for the building work, were unable to be reached for comment.
The news comes with the recent delayed finish to the Underpass refurbishment fresh in the mind of staff and students.
