Fireworks to celebrate the University of Chester’s 175th anniversary this weekend seem somehow appropriate given how the institution’s recent growth has divided opinions.
Residents and visitors to the city are all invited to enjoy Saturday evening’s (March 21) extravaganza of free entertainment centred on the university’s recently acquired site in Queen’s Park which will host host Capital FM at the former Lloyds Banking Group calls centre in Queen’s Park Road.
But residents’ group leader Reg Barritt from Handbridge has slammed the venture. Like many, he feels the university has grown with little regard for the impact on the neighbourhood. Ward councillors have also expressed disappointment at the university’s failure to consult with the community over its plan to establish a Business School at the Queen’s Park site.
The university hopes such feelings can be put to one side when it welcomes the community to share in its celebrations featuring, at 8pm, a 12-minute burst of pyrotechnics, set to a selection of classical and contemporary music, courtesy of the professionals behind displays for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, VJ Day, Henley Royal Regatta, and New Year in London and Edinburgh.
Vice-chancellor Professor Tim Wheeler said: ““Since our foundation by the Church of England in 1839, we have valued being at the heart of the community. We would like to welcome the community to share in our 175th anniversary, as we stage one of the most impressive firework displays that the city has ever seen. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for their part in our continued success.
“I hope as many people as possible are able to join us this March 21, as we mark our history and look forward to our future.”
The evening, which will run between 7pm and 8.15pm, will include music from a student band and culminate in the spectacular fireworks, best viewed from The Groves, the Walls or Queen's Park suspension bridge.
A programme of activities is under way throughout the current academic year (2014-15) to commemorate the founding of the institution in 1839, including a public lecture series and student and staff events.
The university, a registered charity, began life when a group of Victorian pioneers, including two future Prime Ministers and a future Archbishop of Canterbury, had the ‘extraordinary vision’ to choose Chester as the first place in the country to have a college specially built for the professional training of teachers. This served the growing number of schools, established in the public-spirited 19th century.
Since then, the institution says its mission has been ‘to sustain that philanthropic spirit’. Among the examples highlighted are:
• The university contributes £298 million a year to the region
• More than 29,500 hours of voluntary work were undertaken by students and staff during the academic year 2013/14
• The majority of Cheshire’s nurses, midwives and teachers and all its police officers are now trained and developed by the university
• World-class research conducted by the university has an emphasis on projects which benefit society.
• The university has the North West’s most employable graduates, with 95.2% in work or further study
But Reg Barritt, general secretary of Handbridge Residents’ Council, fears the arrival of the Business School in Queen’s Park may mark the beginning of the kind of ‘studentification’ issues already suffered in areas like the Garden Quarter.
Mr Barritt had not received an invitation to the party when he spoke to The Chronicle but has now been sent one by the university which has also issued invites to other community representatives.
He said: “It’s disgustingly offensive and typical of the high-handed, arrogant, overbearing, over-powering behaviour of the university. The university go on about the regional benefits but don’t recognise the impact on local communities.”
