Around a dozen University of Manchester students occupied a university building in Fallowfield as part of ongoing rent strike protests yesterday.
Students representing UoM Rent Strike, Students Before Profit and 9K4WHAT have taken up residence in the currently empty Owens Tower on Wilmslow Road, in a stand against university management.
Yesterday evening, the students occupying the tower had their WIFI cut off by the university and were temporarily deprived of receiving food and other essential items.
However, after involvement from local MP Afzal Khan, the internet was restored in the early hours of the morning.
He said: “The welfare of students should be everyone’s number one priority.
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“I hope @OfficialUoM will reach out to students and de-escalate tensions.”
Protestors have said that they feel like they have been neglected by the University, and are demanding a 40 per cent reduction in rent for the remainder of the 2020/21 academic year.
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One of the occupiers, Ben McGowan, 18, is a first-year politics student at the University of Manchester.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “The way the university has treated students is deplorable.
“Firstly, they told us we would receive face to face teaching and then backtracked on that within a week of us moving in. Then hundreds of us had to isolate with little support.
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“The state of the accommodation is awful too. There’s been rat infestations as well as leaks and floods in some of the halls on campus.
“We will not leave until (Vice Chancellor) Nancy Rothwell meets with us and agrees to our aims. The least that university management could do is agree to meet us and hear what we have to say.”
UoM Rent Strike’s original demands, announced on October 5, are as follows:
A rent reduction of at least 40 per cent, for the remainder of the academic year 2020-21.
To offer all students no-penalty early release clause from their tenancy contracts, for both this and the next academic year.
Increase the standard of support for students in halls of residence, this includes food, laundry and post for isolating flats; better security and faster responses to complaints about standards of living e.g. broken fridges.
Mr McGowan, who lives in Fallowfield’s Oak House accommodation, also said he wanted a refund on rent paid for December as new Government guidelines meant he had to leave the accommodation, but the university had “refused to engage.”
In an open letter addressed to Nancy Rothwell, the occupiers said: “Even amidst the calls for transparency between the governing body and the students, you have still failed to provide us with a meeting to merely discuss these demands, much less to implement them.”
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Mr McGowan added: “University management have a duty of care over their students.”
“If they are not willing to meet with us to discuss their concerns then they are failing in their role.”
A University of Manchester spokesperson said: “We are aware of the protest by a handful of students in an empty residential building.
“We have made it clear to them that they shouldn’t be there and that they may also be in contravention of current national Health Protection Regulations.
“We are already engaging with elected Students’ Union representatives about many of the issues being highlighted by the protestors.
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“The University is fully committed to freedom of expression.”
Mr McGowan said that they have enough food to last them a while, and they will continue to occupy the tower block until their “basic demands” are met.
In an updated statement, a University of Manchester spokesman said that the Vice Chancellor has agreed to meet students over the weekend to discuss their concerns.
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Manchester’s AO Arena scoop up Take That as Keane’s Co-op Live gig is cancelled in ongoing venue saga
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s existing arena, the AO Arena, has stepped in to host more concerts that have been postponed by Co-op Live, with yet another act being cancelled too.
First it was A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, announced earlier today and now, in perhaps the most damning twist of fate for the brand-new venue, Take That’s five-night run that was set for the Co-op Live this May has now been moved to the AO Arena.
Their two June dates at the new arena are said to be unaffected.
The Co-op Live‘s official opening has been hit with several delays, with events like Peter Kay’s double bill, Olivia Rodrigo and The Black Keys all already postponed over the last week or so.
Issuing a statement after rescuing multiple Take That shows, AO Arena general manager Jen Mitchell, said: “It wouldn’t be a Take That tour without a stop-off in Manchester, so it’s great to welcome the band and their fans back to AO Arena for five nights, in the heart of this wonderful city.”
The venue has naturally welcomed the sudden flood of extra names being added to its already strong lineup for 2024, doing its best to minimise inconvenience for gig-goers who have made travel arrangements, booked hotels etc.
As for the group themselves, they also responded to their tens of thousands of fans expecting to see them from this weekend onwards.
Confessing that they’ve had to make “the difficult decision” to switch venues and although “it’s not one [they’ve taken lightly], they wanted to give fans as much notice as possible”, adding: “We thank you for your understanding and we’ll see you all soon”.
Meanwhile, Noughties favourites Keane have sadly had to shelve their Manchester show for the foreseeable following the venue’s continuing “technical issues”.
Announcing the news on their social pages on Thursday evening, they admitted that they were “absolutely gutted” but that the decision was “entirely out of the control”.
Notably, the huge new venue by the Etihad Stadium had to turn away fans who were already queueing for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on Monday 1 May, after part of an air conditioning unit fell from the ceiling onto a (thankfully) empty arena floor.
Question marks had already been hanging over whether some upcoming gigs would be able to go ahead and now it seems that they will be taking place – just not at the Co-op Live…
Manchester’s decades-old AO Arena, the largest indoor venue in the UK (until the Co-op Live opens), will be welcoming Keane to its stage instead.
With so many people having been pitting the two venues against one another over the last weeks and months, let’s just say it’s quite clear who’s come out looking better at the minute…
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie moves Manchester gig to AO Arena following Co-op Live cancellation
Danny Jones
Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has confirmed that his cancelled Co-op Live gig has now been moved to Manchester’s AO Arena this weekend.
After suddenly being lined up as the venue’s first official gig after the postponement of both Peter Kay and The Black Keys, the American hip-hop artists’ show ended up going the same as the others previously scheduled for the new arena and being pulled at the last minute.
With guests being turned away from the still-yet-to-open Co-op Live Arena just hours before the show was set to start, and Olivia Rodrigo fans being given the same unfortunate news ahead of her gig this Saturday, ABWDH has taken matters into his own hands.
Announcing the rescheduling of his concert on X, the 28-year-old artist confirmed that Wednesday night’s gig has now been relocated to Co-op’s main rival, the AO Arena.
Set to take place on Saturday, the artist – which just so happens to be his first name (yes, seriously) – had a simple message for his fans: “We won’t give up that easy, let’s go!”.
Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped the venue – which is set to become the UK’s biggest indoor entertainment venue and one of the largest in Europe when it finally does open – from announcing more events over the coming months and well into 2025.
Confirming the show on their social pages, the AO simply promised, “It’s going to be a brilliant night and we can’t wait to see you all here.”
The AO Arena has hosted some of the biggest names in the entire world in the course of its existence and recently underwent a £50m refurbishment that included the launch of The Mezz.
Safe to say this presents an interesting twist in events when so many people have been pitting the two venues against one another.
Question marks have been hanging over whether more upcoming gigs, like Keane on Sunday 5 May, and then a five-night run of gigs from Take That will still be able to go ahead.
It remains to be seen whether other artists will follow suit in moving their shows should more cancellations/postponements be announced.
You can recap everything that’s happened so far down below: