Petition calls for university site to be saved

Max Yates set up the online petition, opposing the closure

A graduate has set up an online petition, opposing the closure of the university site where he studied.

The University of Chester has been told it has to leave the Guildhall in Shrewsbury at the end of the academic year.

The owner of the building, Shropshire Council, said it could no longer offer it rent-free and it might need the building for its own staff in the future.

Max Yates, who graduated in 2019, said it would be a loss for the town if the university leaves.

He achieved a first class degree in medical genetics after leaving home, admitting "I didn't have the best A-levels in the world".

Now he has a job in the town and is studying for a doctorate.

Mr Yates said: "Lots of different people are going to have their own reasons why the closure of UCS is going to be a bad thing."

He also said it was "really sad" and he was thinking of "people like us, who perhaps without UCS wouldn't have had the chance to go to university".

The University of Chester has been teaching courses at the Guildhall since 2016

The university said it was looking for alternative sites in Shropshire and the council said it would support the search.

But the authority said the agreement for rent-free use of the building, which began in 2016, could not continue.

It is looking to cut its budget by £62m and might move its own staff into the Guildhall, until it can build new offices in the town, which will be needed if it sells its current Shirehall building.

Mr Yates said the decision to end the agreement was "misguided" however, and added: "The Guildhall has been a beacon for students across Shropshire, providing crucial opportunities and shaping futures."

He said if a new site could not be found, Shrewsbury and Shropshire would suffer a loss of skills and would be "left with a demographic of people who aren't academics".

Mr Yates also warned less money would be spent in the town if students leave and that Shrewsbury would experience a "loss of credibility and reputation".

He said the petition was an attempt to reach out to people who can "make a difference".