Universities object to nearby institution's name change

A university's plan to give itself a regional name rebrand in the aim of attracting more students is to face a legal challenge after nearby institutions objected to it.

The University of Bolton has applied to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester.

However, the University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the University of Salford, which uses the word Manchester in its branding, said the new name was "misleading" and could confuse prospective students.

Bolton vice-chancellor George Holmes said he did not agree with the claim and added that the rebrand could bring an "enormous" financial boost to the region.

He told BBC Radio Manchester a consultation on the name change bid had been held by universities regulator The Office for Students and the results were expected "sometime in July".

He said using the Greater Manchester title would more accurately reflect the fact that up to 70% of his students came from the region and fitted with plans to expand to sites in Oldham and Bury.

"The new name is not confusing," he said.

"There are already two other institutions in Greater Manchester with the city of Manchester in their title."

He added that other city regions, such as Greater London, Liverpool and Leeds, had several institutions sharing names "without cause for confusion".

All three of the other universities have responded to the regulator's consultation and the legal name change application.

MMU said objections had been raised against Bolton's trademark applications "where we feel they impinge on our own registered trademarks", while UoM said it believed the proposed name change would be "very misleading and confusing".

According to its own website, the University of Bolton traces its roots "all the way back to 1824 when it opened as one of the first mechanics’ institutes".

Granted university status in 2005, it has a global student body of about 11,000 and employs about 900 people.

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