Students fight threat to music venue

8:04pm Monday 23rd June 2008

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By The Page Turner »

Students at Oxford Brookes University are campaigning against the demolition of one of the city's biggest live music venues.

The university is planning to redesign its Gipsy Lane campus, but the proposed revamp has worried students because it involves the demolition of the students' union, the Helena Kennedy Student Centre.

The university has pledged to rebuild student facilities on the site of the former Darcy building, but there is no guarantee the replacement building will include a large concert hall.

Students' union president Antoinette Kyuchukovacrct said students were alarmed by the proposals for the revamp, which will provide a replacement student union by 2012.

She said: "The student union venue has hosted lots of famous bands over the years for public gigs, including groups like Travis and Pendulum.

"Students do not want to lose this facility because of the campus redevelopment and I have already received more than 1,000 written responses regarding the venue.

"Students are on holiday at the moment, but I know they are opposed to these plans and I am gathering their responses by email.

"The message is coming through very strongly that the student experience here at Oxford Brookes would be far worse if students didn't have this space."

University deputy vice-chancellor Rex Knight said: "The university will shortly release its plans for a major new student centre on its Gipsy Lane site.

"It has been more than three years in the planning and will transform the services we provide for our students."