‘Campus Ken’ has two more years in his Langwith room
In a surprise move, University managers have reversed a decision to force Ken Fairburn, Langwith’s resident hairdresser, off campus at the end of this term.
John Street, the University’s Director of Estates Services newly responsible for Fairburn’s room, contacted him on May 10—only days after a Nouse feature highlighted his plight—to offer him two more years on campus.
Street told Fairburn, who is affectionately known as ‘Campus Ken’, that his current Langwith room was “ideal” for him.
In allowing Fairburn to remain on campus for two more years, Street has made an exception from a controversial University business plan which seeks to centralise all on-campus businesses in Market Square, where rent for a 1000-square-foot commercial unit is £17,000 per year and the cost of fitting out a new room is estimated to be as much as £30,000.
Fairburn, who has said that it would be “impossible for me to move to Market Square on my own”, has been battling University administrators for six years to avoid the move to Market Square.
John Greenwood, head of Commercial Services at the University, has previously admitted that rents at Market Square are “too high to attract small businesses” but insisted that an exception could not be made, despite admitting that Fairburn is “part of the fixtures and fittings at the University”.
The U-turn came after responsibility for the decision was transferred from Commercial Services to Estate Services last month.
Fairburn said, “I’m so happy I can stay on a few more years until retirement. I want to thank Nouse as well as all my customers, students and staff alike for all their support”.
He added, “John Street was excellent without any doubt. I can only say good things. Before him, the University seemed to have got themselves into a corner over me and he’s been able to see beyond that.”
Kirk Bevins, a regular student customer of Fairburn, said, “I’m so glad Ken is staying. He is a legend and he’s the only place I cut my hair and he knows us on a personal level”.
Fairburn’s 23 years on campus—in which he has seen Paul McCartney play Vanbrugh, Jools Holland grace Derwent BBQ and a car drive across the then-frozen lake—were explored in an interview with ‘Campus Ken’ in the 8 May 2006 edition of Nouse’s supplement Muse.
The University’s reversal over Fairburn’s room has come as a surprise after he spoke out in the interview against University management, who he said “ran the University like a business”, despite being “not that good at business”.
Another regular student customer of Fairburn, Adam Wingrove, said, “ I was surprised the University changed its mind, but clearly the power of opinion counts for more than people think. After all, as Ken said, the University rang him only a couple of days after the last Nouse report to offer him two more years. So officials do take some note every now and again after all.”
Fairburn escaped eviction in 2001 after YUSU and Nouse ran a ‘Save Campus Ken’ campaign, following an earlier attempt by the University to move him.
In a move towards semi-retirement, ‘Campus Ken’ is available to cut hair on a reduced week, Tuesday to Thursday.
