ILAM BUILDINGS “Disastrous State Of Affairs”

Press, Issue 30997, 1 March 1966, Page 1

ILAM BUILDINGS “Disastrous State Of Affairs”

“A disastrous state of affairs”—the description of the Chancellor (the Rt. Rev. A. K. Warren)—was the only comment of the Canterbury 7 University Council yesterday when the Vice-Chancellor (Dr. L. L. Pownall) had read a report of nine foolscap pages about uncompleted accommodation for the science faculty at Ham and consequent disruption of proposed changes on the central site.

The university 7 will demand full penalty payments under the contracts but. Dr. Pownall said, this would do nothing to relieve the “shambles” created by the failure of the contractors. In future the university 7 would “take great care and caution” in receiving the estimates or promises of builders. “Experience shows we cannot count on these dates,” he said.

As the council listened in stony silence. Dr. Pownall read column after column of "contractors’ formally stated dates” in the latter part of last year and early this year, and the present state of work. In summary these were:— Physics-chemistry building and science library (Williamson Construction Company), 13 floors “still unavailable”; Zoology, geography, botany, geology: (Fletcher Construction Company), two floors not available. Psychology, mathematics, animal house, lecture block (John Calder. Ltd.), all occupied by university. In terms of the original contractual date (as distinct from early access and use), the science complex as a whole was now at least three months overdue. Dr. Pownall said. The last section to be completed (chemistry’s two upper floors) was expected to be eight months behind the original due date.

General Effects Dr Pownall said the general effects ranged from the disruption of research to waste of time and money by science students having to travel between the two sites (lectures at Ham and laboratories in town). High pressure gas was not available (two compressors had not yet left England) and bottled gas had to be bought The published timetable was inaccurate, library access was upset. Workmen were using parking areas.

All this, said Dr. Pownall, had repercussions on the city

site where: English could not move into the old physics building, until the third term; economics could not expand into the present English department; education could not move into the chemistry building where conversion would now probably have to be delayed to the end of the year; psychology and sociology were denied additional laboratory space in the present education building; geography could not use part of the present botany building; music could not move into education; political science could not move into quarters which music should have vacated; accountancy could not have a commercial laboratory; classics could not move into zoology because conversion was delayed; history would be delayed in possession of classics space; philosophy would have to stay in present quarters all this year; law could not reunite its staff; Romance and Germanic languages should have had a languages laboratory but were prevented by the train of delayed transfers above; physical education could not get into the physics basement; central library expansion into space which should have been vacated was delayed.

Two Gaius “The only accommodation provisions planned for 1966 that have not been affected . . . are a student guide service office in the clock tower entrance and the transfer of the liaison officer, boarding bursar, and chaplain to 34 Gloucester street,” said Dr. Pownall.

“I suppose it is impossible for anyone outside the uni-

versity—apart from parents—to know how gravely all this affects students,” said Dr. Pownall. “We do all we can with teachers, health service, counsellors, and chaplain plus administrative staff dedicated to the proposition that more students will succeed, and then we are let down like this.

“There is no point at all in being more than sorrowful, except that we will do all we can to ease the problems of staff and students,” Dr. Pownall said as he listed massive changes in the university’s accommodation programme to cope with expansion.