University Registrar and Secretary David Duncan is “very hopeful” that plans for a nightclub on campus can go ahead despite hundreds of students signing a petition in opposition.
Under plans announced by bosses in November, the squash courts at Derwent College would be permanently redesigned into a nightclub on campus that would open for a minimum of two days a week.
However, an online petition emerged soon after the announcement which urged the university to spend the proposed £200k budget on alternative and arguably more worthwhile investments.
The ideas listed in the petition included funding for Open Door, free sanitary products, an on-campus pharmacy and holding an alternative Freshers’ Week.
The petition states: “Say NO to a nightclub on campus. The University of York wants to spend £200,000 on building a nightclub on campus, and we think this is a terrible idea.”
But now officials say they will not spend the originally reported £200,000.
David Duncan told York Vision: “We are still working on the plans for a campus night club.
“A number of students with relevant knowledge and expertise have come forward in support of the project – the plan is to form them into an advisory group.
“We do not expect to spend nearly as much as the £200,000 previously reported – we believe the project can be taken forward for a considerably smaller sum.”
More than 300 signed the petition.