University of Chester must leave Shrewsbury's Guildhall

A university will have to find new classrooms after being told it has to leave a council-owned building.

Shropshire Council is seeking to cut its budget by £62m and said it could no longer allow the University of Chester to carry on using the Guildhall in Shrewsbury rent-free.

The university has been teaching courses from the building since 2016.

It said it was looking at alternative options in the county, to allow students to finish their courses.

Yasmin Guzelkasap, a student from Oswestry, said: "It's a bit disconcerting when you're going into the final year of your degree which is pretty full-on anyway."

She said there were students from all over Shropshire attending and she believed some would drop out if they had to travel further.

Lee McCall from Bayston Hill, who is also in her final year, said: "It's a shame really because it's a nice campus, and there's a cafe and it's the centre of town and it's a nice place to come to."

The local authority said it initially agreed to let the university use the building free of charge for five years, and then extended the term to help the university following the coronavirus pandemic, when student numbers fell.

But the council said despite having regular conversations, the university was unable to give an assurance over future rent payments.

"As many will understand, we just cannot continue to support them in this way," the council said.

It added the Guildhall may be needed by council staff once the authority moved out of its existing headquarters at Shrewsbury's Shirehall.

The council has long-term ambitions to set up a multi-agency centre on the site of the town's Riverside shopping complex, but may need temporary offices until that project is realised.

The university said since moving into the Guildhall it had produced almost 1,000 graduates, including teachers, scientists, nurses and social workers.

It said its partnership with Shropshire Council had been "hugely positive" and was grateful for the authority's support.

The university is now looking at other locations "preferably in Shropshire" and alternative methods of teaching.

It said it was also discussing how it might use existing specialist facilities to deliver its courses.

The council said it would support the university in finding new accommodation.

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