The “Uni Shop” opening has been delayed, possibly up until September 2010, Chris Charnley, the Students’ Union’s president confirmed. The decision not to build the shop, Charnley says, would have been made by the Commercial Trading Board or by the Estates Committee. He added this is where the problem lies, as until recently the SU has not been included in those meetings.
Though Charnley was more than happy to take all the credit for the move, he now passes the blame onto the university. The Linc has consistently pointed out that the university controls all aspects related to its facilities, and that the SU has minimal influence on such decisions, if any.
In an interview on Wednesday, Charnley said: “The University told me September, but you have to look at the fact that they told me it would be January.”
He now claims moving the shop, which was a significant part of his manifesto when campaigning to be elected SU president, is a decision he can’t make: “I have worked very hard on this. I have sat in a lot of meetings, I have gained student opinion but I can’t decide whether the shop comes. I have influenced it and sat on the project group to the furthest point. At the end of the day if the money isn’t there, it isn’t there.”
In late 2009, Charnley and the SU heavily publicised the shop’s move to the Atrium. He was happy to take most of the credit for moving the shop, yet says he is powerless over the shop’s delay.
Charnley says that everything had been organised, such as staff and the layout, but the move never happened: “[The SU] had come back and there was obviously no development on the place. It’s highly annoying and it is highly inconvenient because students were told that it was coming in January.”
The funding meant for the shop is now being put towards the Business and Law faculty building and the Human Performance Centre instead. The funding for the shop will now be taken from next year’s budget, while the Business and Law Faculty building is expected to be opened sometime after Christmas 2010, instead of by September, sources have told The Linc.
The University of Lincoln is expected to put out a statement on these matters later in the week.
Editor’s note (January 28th, 2010) — The University of Lincoln denied it doesn’t have enough funds to finish the Business and Law Faculty building, yet a slight delay is expected. A statement on the Uni Shop’s delayed move is pending.
I look forward to the statement, as it’s not just students who have been annoyed by the delay.