Union leaders say the £200,000 spending spree at the University of Aberdeen mansion is a “slap in the face” to staff who fear potential redundancies.
£200k will be spent on renovating the Chanonry Lodge that has been used to house the institution’s principals for over a hundred years.
This comes at a time where the university recently announced a £10 million savings plan that will cut over 111 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff jobs.
The Gaudie previously reported that the Georgian house had undergone £119k of renovations since 2020. This was overseen by former principal George Boyne whilst he lived in the mansion.
Professor Pete Edwards was the first university principal to not live in the historic mansion that overlooks St Machars Cathedral since it was first used in the 1880s.
It has previously been visited by King Charles while he was Duke of Ruthersay in 2009, and Olympic gold medalist Dame Katherine Grainge in 2017.
Now, the Chanonry Lodge will be turned into “a commercial meeting, event and conference space.”
The transformation was announced by Estate Manager Morag Beers in the General Council meeting in May.
The university has said that the mansion will be, “tailored to suit both formal occasions and relaxed social events, allowing guests to enjoy a comfortable and memorable experience in a truly unique location.”
They add, “the gardens are ideal for summer BBQs, garden parties, outdoor drinks receptions, and relaxed social gatherings.”
The University has projected costs over £45,000 on scaffolding the mansion, £15,000 on ‘decorations’ and have budgeted £10,000 for the installation cable Wi-fi.
£7,300 has been spent on structural repairs.
The rest of the renovations are made up of roofing and rendering, joinery work, provisions, and preliminaries.
The university has faced significant financial challenges in the last few years.
In April, the institution announced that they would need to save or generate £12 million by 2028. This was followed by a series of cost-saving measures such as cutting smaller courses and implementing student:staff ratios.
After the university court accepted these proposals in May, it announced that 111 FTE staff would be made redundant in a £10 million savings plan.
The university is now forecasting a £4 million surplus, the first time the university has not run a deficit since 2023.
Staff have criticised the plans, with over 1600 people signing an open letter to the university telling them to treat staff as “assets, not liabilities.”
The University and College Union (UCU) have reported a staff health and wellbeing emergency, with a staff survey revealing that staff morale has plummeted by 35% since last year.
UCU’s Scotland Official, Mary Senior said: “At a time when senior management wants to cut over one hundred jobs and more at Aberdeen University, workers will be shocked to learn of a plan to spend six figure sums decorating the principal’s former residence, Chanonry Lodge.
“The news of hundreds of thousands of pounds being allocated to doing up university premises for drinks receptions is a slap in the face to these hard-working staff.”
An Aberdeen University spokesperson said, “Chanonry Lodge requires regular and at times bespoke maintenance to ensure it remains water and wind tight and fully compliant with health and safety regulations that apply to our estate.
“A lot of this work can be quite disruptive and it was not practical to carry it out when the building was being used as a full-time residence.”
“Creating additional revenue from our assets has been identified as an important part of the University’s future growth strategy and work is ongoing to position Chanonry Lodge as a commercial meeting, event and conference space.”
