Leamington Study Space delayed until October

The proposed Leamington Study Space “is still on track” to be completed by October.

The space, which was originally due to open this term, was delayed due to safety concerns about the proposed location, which was just off Clemens Street in the railway arches.

Warwick’s Head of Communications Peter Dunn has confirmed to the Boar that the University are still on track to open the learning space by October as they seek a new location.

The study space will have be a permanent fixture in Leamington, similar to the Learning Grid.

However, President of the Students’ Union Leo Boe said there has been a lot of “wasted time”.

He said, “We acknowledged there were flaws with the site but we were put under pressure by the University to make a decision between two possible locations.

“We agree with the fact that they want a better location for this kind of space but I’m unclear as to why this wasn’t something embedded into the process in the first place. It wasted a lot of time.”

In response, Dunn said, “We are very surprised at the claim that any ‘pressure’ was placed on the SU, particularly as the process is still ongoing, and particularly as we will soon have a new short list of properties to discuss.”

“Having an off-campus study space would be a great opportunity to improve lives of students,” said Boe, “It would have relieved congestion in the library and reduce student reliance on buses. I hope this is still a priority for the University.”

Original plans to extend the library cafe may also be changed. Dunn said, “We are exploring the possibility of an even more significant expansion to food provision on campus. If that is taken forward it would obviously modify plans for changes to the Library Cafe.

“There are still intended to be improvements to the Library cafe. However, the scale and nature of those changes depends on what we decide to do elsewhere.”