‘Super’, perhaps, but does York really need a new club?
The council is at fault for favouring student wants over the needs of the rest of the community.
Often when I’m asked the question, ‘is York a good night out?’ I give a confused answer. There’s nothing wrong with York at all – who could honestly imagine life without the “terrible triumvirate” of Toffs, Ziggys and Gallery? The thing is, it’s is not what I would call a “crazy student party city”. I pity the fresher overheard in Vanbrugh bar the other day, saying how they had “only” been to Toffs and Ziggys so far. What to say?
Maybe that next June, a new ‘super-club’ will open on the site of the former Barbican leisure complex. York’s last super-club, Ikon/Diva, is now almost forgotten, having closed down in 2005. Nothing against the existing clubs in York, but they’re certainly not ‘super-clubs’. However, this is connected with what makes student nights out in York great – you see everybody you know. This is totally different to the ‘massive party cities’ of Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield, where the choice is much greater and your mates much harder to find. Do we want or need a new venue?
I recognise that this argument might not go down well with the student population. Of course we’re not going to turn down a 3000-capacity super-club on our doorstep.
More rooms of music, big-name DJs, hopefully more new cutting edge electronic music and less of the old cheese: it all sounds pretty good, especially when you consider the restaurants, bars and concert hall that are to be included. Maybe we’ll get some decent bands again, without night-tripping to Leeds.
It’s worth mentioning, though, that local opinion is divided on the project. Obviously York residents aren’t too mad about hordes of rabid students passing by their doorsteps, but this isn’t the real reason for the opposition. The Barbican complex used to be a massive publicly owned sports and leisure centre.
It seems the council couldn’t run the facility competently; the long-derelict site has now been sold off to Absolute Leisure at what appears to have been an absurdly low price. Therefore, all the community facilities, including two swimming pools, two gyms and a climbing wall, will not be replaced if the plans go ahead.
It seems to me that the council may be seriously at fault for the situation. However, I suppose that, to most students, these ‘outside’ issues just aren’t important at all, encased as we are in the bubble that is university life.
I’m not even sure whether they’re that important to me; I’ll be leaving York in a few years anyway. All the same, it might be worth considering whether a new superclub is such an indispensible boon.
For more information: www.saveourbarbicanyork.org.uk
