Exclusive: Lancaster University students speak out about ‘disheartening’ campus bar closures

The start of term brought a shock to many students when it was announced that two of Lancaster University’s college bars: The Trough of Bowland and Lonsdale’s The Red Lion would be closed indefinitely with immediate effect.

Other bars on campus have also had changes to their opening hours, with Pendle Brew shutting from 5pm every night. 

According to an anonymous student who contacted The Lancaster Tab, the students who work in these bars were officially told five days before the start of term.

Multiple students who got in touch with The Lancaster Tab said the main issue from their perspective is the lack of communication between management and student employees.

A student who works for the events team commented: “What bothers me most is that I was completely in the dark until it was too late […] I am spending time looking for a job that I should really be spending doing coursework because what’s the point of doing a degree if I starve before I get there”.

Another fourth year student who works on the events team informed us that their “income per month has more than halved now from losing this job.”

Sonny, the current president of Bowland College’s JCR told The Lancaster Tab that there was no involvement from the JCR exec in regard to the closure of The Trough at Bowland. He said the JCR “were only informed after the decision had been finalised”.

He went on to state that the bar “has been a vital part of our College’s identity and community for decades” and that it was “disheartening that the JCR, as representatives of the student body, were not consulted”. 

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In his full statement, Sonny said: “As the President of the Bowland College JCR, I’d like to emphasise that we were not involved in the decision-making process regarding the closure of Bowland Bar, and we were only informed after the decision had been finalised. This decision was made by the University, and we are deeply disappointed by the outcome.

“Bowland bar has been a vital part of our college’s identity and community for decades, and its closure is a significant loss to our members, both past and present. It is disheartening that the JCR, as representatives of the student body, were not consulted.

“We, however, are excited to look ahead, and we see a positive future for the space. We are committed to working with college management and the student body to explore how we can best repurpose the bar space for a dynamic and engaging future for the college.”

The Full-Time Officer Team at LUSU provided the following statement to The Lancaster Tab: “We were disappointed that the University did not consult any students in making this decision but we look forward to seeing the creative ideas that come out in student consultation for the future use of the student-centred space.“

The new college bar opening times are as follows:

The Red Lion (Lonsdale)

Closed.

The Trough of Bowland

Closed.

Pendle Brew

Monday to Friday – 10:00-17:00.

The Mill (Fylde)

Monday to Friday – 10:00-23:00.

Saturday and Sunday – 12:00-23:00.

Grizedale Bar

Monday to Friday – 18:00-23:00.

The Northern Oak (County)

Wednesday to Friday – 18:00-22:00.

Trevor (Furness)

Monday to Saturday – 16:30-23:00.

Barker House Farm (Cartmel)

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – 8:00-22:00.

Wednesday and Friday – 8:00-23:00

Lancaster University was contacted for comment but did not respond.