Dozens of lectures were cancelled last Monday after a water mains burst on campus.
Owing to the effects of corrosion, the burst pipes affected the Daysh, Fine Art, Building Sciences, Claremont Tower and Claremont Bridge buildings, with all lectures held there postponed to a later date.
Students were informed via email at 09.50am of the disruption, but were later assured with a follow-up email that the buildings were perfectly safe, and could still be entered for assignment submissions.
The major burst affected the water supply to the buildings, meaning until they were repaired there was no heating, and no toilet or kitchen facilities.
The university deemed the building thus “unsuitable for large-scale teaching” and apologized for the inconvenience, stating that they would “be in touch later in the day to let you know about teaching arrangements for tomorrow”.
Lesley Braiden, Director of Student Services and Academic Registrar, commented:
“Water was restored to the Fine Art and Building Science buildings later in the day on Monday 11th April and to the Tower, Bridge and Daysh buildings on Tuesday 12th April.
During the repair works a leak was also found on the heating main supply, which serves the same buildings.
This meant that it was necessary to shut down the heating for safety reasons whilst repairs were undertaken.
This work was completed, and the heating was fully restored by Sunday 17th April”.
Braiden also noted that “large classes affected by the problem were successfully re-arranged from Tuesday 12th April, and students affected were notified of the changes by email and through their personal timetable notifications”.
Second Year Chemistry student Chloe Trayford stated: “I had an Erasmus meeting scheduled for that day in the Daysh building and got the email cancelling it the morning. It was all rescheduled effectively in the few days after it, so I’m not complaining. It meant I got the day off”.
A planned refurbishment of the duct and services is set to be commencing soon.
