UoB Should Rethink Decision to Scrap Community Liaison Group

COMMENT: I have written to the University of Bristol urging a rethink of its decision to disband the Community Liaison Group, which I reported in an article on Jan 6.

In a letter emailed to Vice Chancellor Prof. Hugh Brady on Jan 28, I stated:

“This decision and the way it has been conveyed appear to signal a retreat by the university from direct engagement with its nearest neighbours at a time when rapid expansion of student numbers calls for more communication, not less.”

My letter to Prof. Brady is available here.

I decided to write after receiving no response to questions I submitted three weeks earlier. I have now been told I will receive a response from the university’s Registrar, Lucinda Parr.

Chandos Neighbourhood Association, which earlier expressed dismay at the “demise” of the CLG, has also written to the vice-chancellor, and received a similar promise.

Redland and Cotham Amenities Society said in an email to UoB the decision was “very disappointing”. It received a reply on Jan 20 saying the CLG “has been in its present format suspended”, which is looser wording than the statement I quoted in my article.

However, I have also seen correspondence from another source at the university which leaves little doubt that the CLG is being ditched.

My letter to Prof. Brady is available here.