It has been revealed to the Guardian that the John MacIntyre building, predominantly home to the SRC, may be taken back by University management in order to rehouse Recruitment and International Office (RIO).
The SRC, currently situated on both floors of the building, will potentially be restricted to the ground floor of the building after it’s main officers moving there earlier this year. However, no plans have been confirmed by the University yet.
James Harrison, President of the SRC, expressed concern after these plans were revealed to him and other prominent SRC members. He said: “Obviously we’re really concerned about this and we’ll be pressurising the uni to not do this, but numerous staff have been making advances on this issue. We think the decision is coming from people within estates and buildings. They were tasked with finding more space for RIO, and have set their sights on the John Mac as it is a central location. Our concern now is that we may have to abandon plans to redevelop downstairs (to improve our student services), for fear of the university taking some of upstairs for RIO as part of the price.”
A University spokesperson have assured the SRC that no plans will be made concrete until the SRC is entirely on-board, and that initial discussions had simply broached the possibility.
The spokesperson said: “At this stage we are merely exploring possibilities, no more than that. No decision has been taken and meetings have been arranged between our estates staff and Bob Hay of SRC to discuss. This is because we are looking at additional accommodation for RIO staff who will be engaged in promoting international student exchanges. But be assured that we would seek the agreement of the SRC before proceeding with anything.”
