With the next stage of the Bloomsbury Masterplan commencing, much of cam- pus has been turned into a building site. Large spaces used for such frivolities as ex- ams, including the JBR and old refectory, have become ‘much needed’ additions to UCL’s many cafés. The Wilkins roof gar- dens and the quad are now home to large marquees that are being used for a variety of events, including hosting the roaming Garage theatre.
The building works, along with UCL renting out rooms to external users, has put a strain on the room booking system for clubs and societies. For the first two weeks of term most societies found them- selves unable to book any rooms, unless they did so via senior union staff. Even once the system went live, many societies still reported trouble accessing bookings and a lack of suitable spaces. Some have even been forced off campus in the search for rooms, with the Bhangra and Karate societies among those having to pay for an external space. Last year, UCLU ended up paying more than £2000 for Karate to rent out LA Fitness. Their current home is Bloomsbury Fitness, which means society members have to pay the full gym sub- scription or daily rates for each training session on top of club membership. Presi- dent Phil Compton told The Cheese Grat- er how he doesn’t understand why they haven’t been given their former space, the Astor College sports hall, which would have been free for the society and its mem- bers.
Once UCL inevitably train more baris- tas than barristers, societies should be able to find space to meet in the giant coffee chain that our campus is set to become.