Posts Tagged ‘Kings College’

After almost 180 years of negotiations, King’s College London has announced the acquisition of The East Wing of Somerset House, for a lease of 78 years.

Part of one of London’s most iconic historical buildings, the wing went to King’s after being the subject of near constant negotiations since the college was built alongside it in 1829.
The acquisition of the building, previously leased to HM Revenue & Customs, was described by students , alumni, and staff as a, “wonderful addition to the college”.

King’s Principal Rick Trainorsaid: “This is an historic moment for the College. I am delighted that we will be moving into one of London’sgreat buildings and developing a partnership with the Somerset House Trust which will greatly enhance the student experience and enrich thecultural life of the capital.”

Positioned on The Strand, the addition to the King’s campus will be used primarily for the College’s School of Law. The top two floors will be converted into office space for the School, as well as seminar and meeting rooms to be used for wider teaching programs and public events.

The expansion will improve what one member of staff called the “Dickensian” facilities the School currently inhabits. It is hoped that this extension of the King’s campus will also expand upon both Somerset House and King’s public engagement programmes.

Opened to the public for the first time, the ground floor will house cultural activities curated by the Somerset House Trust. King’s also stated that the first floor will be used for professional development courses, mainly in law and languages, which will be available to the public.

In 2005 King’s faced competition in the bid from the Alrov Group, run by Israeli tycoon Alfred Akirov. It was reported that the Alrov group bid more than £50 million, but eventually bought Café Royal on Regent Street instead.

For the past five years, the College’s main rival was corporate hotel chain GuestInvest, owners of the Kensington Blakes Hotel, who specialise in buy-to-let hotel rooms.

However, that bid incited rows over the use of Somerset House, as by law people are not permitted to sleep on the premises, unless for caretaking purposes.

King’s has announced that they will launch a £20 million fundraising campaign to raise money for the renovation of the East Wing, which is predicted to take 14 months, with work beginning on the site in August 2010.

The College aims to have the School of Law take up residence in the summer of 2011.

King’s College campaigners are gearing up for further action in support of low-paid cleaners after KCL Student Council passed a motion supporting the KCL Living Wage campaign in February. Read the rest of this entry »

A King’s College lecturer was amongst political activists urging students to push for an academic boycott of Israel on Friday, at a conference on campus condemning the college’s decision to award an honorary doctorate to President Shimon Peres. Read the rest of this entry »