The first Student Council meeting of 2010, and fifth of the academic year, was held on Thursday, January 21st. A new landlord accreditation system was discussed, and an “environmental impact policy” was passed without opposition.

In attendance were 14 council reps, two students, and a further seven SU and staff members. Dave Stanley, the Council’s chairman, was unable to attend due to illness, and Joe Hicks, a part-time SU officer, was picked to take over.

Chris Charnley, the SU’s president, updated the council on the progress of the “One, Two, Three” landlord accreditation scheme and said the SU would be keeping the accommodation survey open for an extended period to “give more time for students to provide feedback.” This may suggest that they have received few responses so far.

The scheme, which the SU claim will provide students with a clear idea of what to expect from accommodation, will involve grading landlords from one to three, based on results from a survey at the end of the academic year. Charnley said the Union saw the last SU housing event as successful and another one has been organised for Tuesday, January 26th.

He also discussed a project meeting about the sports centre that was held on Wednesday, January 13th. He said two regular weekly meetings will be held to monitor progress. In addition, the SU are going to extend the survey of sports students to include all students at the university.

Finally, a “Environmental Impact Policy” was passed without any opposition. The aims of the policy are to make the SU more environmentally friendly. This will apparently include purchasing more environmentally-friendly items, promoting the use of recycled materials, and using low-carbon transport.

The next Student Council meeting will be held on Thursday, February 4th.

— Main photo courtesy of the SU.