| Description | Minutes of the committee established by University Council to be responsible for the administration and management of the self-catering accommodation built by the University at Northfield, in the grounds of Manor House. The committee was described as the 'Student Accommodation committee' until the meeting held on 15 December 1971 when it was first named Griffin Close committee. The terms of reference and the membership of the committee were set out at this meeting. The terms of reference were to agree the terms and conditions on which the accommodation at Griffin Close was made available within the general policies laid down by the Council, and to ensure that these were complied with; to be responsible for the administration and management of the accommodation; to receive the annual accounts and estimates for submission to and approval by the Finance and General Purposes committee, and to ensure that the account was self-financing so that no charge fell on other University funds. Membership consisted of a chairman and two other members of Council and three occupants of Griffin Close to be elected annually in October by the occupants. The chairman of the Guild of Students Accommodation sub-committee also attended. The committee usually met once each term, though there were no meetings between December 1976 and December 1977.
The building of the Griffin Close flats was funded not by the University Grants Committee but by building society loans, and the self-catering accommodation was intended to incur minimum administrative costs. This represented a new type of relationship between the University and its student body in which it was agreed by both University Council and the Guild of Students that there would be no paternalism and no facilities would be provided for students other than those normally found in commercial flats. Mortgage repayments and all running and management costs were to be covered by residence fees. Phase I of the Griffin Close development opened in 1970, and Phase II in 1973. There were no places for first year students initially since it was considered that the greater independence and self-reliance needed to live in self-catering accommodation would be more suited to students already familiar with university life. Students applied for places as a group, and allocation of flats was by ballot. Residence was restricted to a period of two years. Some places were reserved for postgraduate students new to Birmingham, and these were allocated by the Lodgings Warden.
Most management matters were dealt with by the Halls Administrator and staff, and day-to-day incidents were reported to the caretaker. It was envisaged that the committee's functions would be to provide a forum for the residents' representatives to express their views and to discuss general issues affecting the site as a whole, including security concerns, parking regulations, and the redecoration of the flats.
The first meeting of the body which eventually became the Griffin Close committee was held as an informal meeting on 'student flats management' on 11 February 1970. University Council had agreed to establish a 'special committee' comprising three members of Council and three student representatives to manage the flats as an interim measure until permanent arrangements were agreed by Council. The first meeting includes discussion of a paper submitted by the student representatives dated 10 February 1970 which considered the terms of tenure, outgoings, accommodation charges, questions of sub-letting, and the term of occupation. As well as a copy of this paper, minutes of this first meeting include notes of an informal meeting organised by the Guild of Students to discuss the management of student flats, chaired by the Deputy Principal and attended by the Halls Administrator, Lodgings Warden, student representatives, and the Bursar and staff from the Bursar's Office. There is also a copy of proposals from the students section of the Guild of Undergraduates sub-committee on student flats, dated May 1969, which includes a proposed rent structure and summary of outgoings, as well as a copy of a report of the Finance and General Purposes committee to Council on the student flats to be built on the Manor House site, dated January 1969
Minutes of the second meeting of the committee, dated 25 February 1970, discuss the terms and conditions of occupancy of the Griffin Close flats and include a copy of the draft application form, and a copy of the caretaker's terms of appointment and duties, as well as references to the appointment of an Accommodation Officer, and discussion about the name to be given to the accommodation. Minutes of meetings held later in 1970 contain further information about discussion of the terms and conditions of occupancy, the payment of utilities, and items of furniture to be supplied to the flats. Minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 1970 also record discussion about the format of the application forms for residence, including the committee's agreement not to ask for details of ethnicity and religion, and debate about whether to accept application forms from male and female students wanting to share one flat. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 1970 give the view of Guild Council that the University should not make moral judgements about groups of men and women sharing flats and pointing out that mixed groups lived in non-University flats, and also record the committee's decision not to allow mixed groups within single flats. Minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 1979 indicate that this rule was still in place then
Discussion about other students eligible for the Griffin Close accommodation is recorded in minutes of meetings held in 1970, including details about the British Council scheme for overseas and Commonwealth students and their families, and initial arrangements to reserve a small number of flats for British married students with children. Minutes of the meeting held on 1 May 1970 discuss the publicity programme for the new accommodation and include a finalised copy of the terms and conditions of occupancy approved by the committee. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 1971 mention that the Halls Administrator was the manager of the Griffin Close site, and state that there was no intention to establish a Hall Council, though the committee recommended that the student members of the committee should also be residents of Griffin Close. These minutes include statistics showing applications and allocations to flats, and a copy of the committee's report to Council
There are no minutes for the period May to December 1970, when the file contains a report on the initial period of occupancy. The minutes refer to minor issues with building maintenance, the need for telephones to be installed, and concerns raised about the lack of communal facilities. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 1971 discuss issues with car parking and telephone access, and include a draft copy of a questionnaire to be circulated to occupants which asks for their opinions about the Griffin Close site, location, and the quality of the acommodation. A copy of the final version of the questionnaire is included with minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 1971, and analysis of the questionnaires is included with minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 1971, together with a copy of a letter to the committee chairman on behalf of the student representatives on the committee asking for particular points to be included for discussion in relation to maintenance of the site, utilities, and allocation of places
There are references to the need for additional accommodation in minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 1971, and proposals for Griffin Close development Phase II, taking into account financial constraints including rising building and maintenance costs. There is further discussion of Phase II in minutes of the meetings held on 14 May 1971 and 14 June 1971
Minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 1971 include a copy of the report on the first year of operation of the accommodation 1970-1971, with the income and expenditure account and a copy of annual report to Council and Senate 1971. Meetings held in December in subsequent years usually contain copies of the annual report and accounts, as well as statistical information concerning applications and allocations, though sometimes this information is included with minutes of meetings held in May
Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 1972 include a copy of a letter from married residents with young children asking whether the University might provide a play area on the site for children to play in a safe space, and the University's response to provide space formerly used by a car park, better barriers, and signs on access road warning about children playing, as well as traffic control measures. Minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 1973 include costs for a playing area and a drawing showing equipment to be provided, but minutes of the meeting held on 2 July 1973 record that the proposal for a play area had been dropped but that traffic control measures were to be implemented. These minutes also contain a copy of a paper of the Works and Maintenance committee written by Bursar reporting on the inspection of site and the proposed play area. The Griffin Close committee's annual report to Council, included with minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 1978, mention that a children's playground had been developed on the site.
Minutes of meetings held in 1972 discuss the imposition of rules governing the length of occupancy, residence fees, the revision of application form, amendments to terms and conditions of occupancy, the maintenance of site and buildings, traffic on the site, wear and tear of the accommodation and site, and sub-occupancy. Minutes of the meeting held on 2 May 1972 record discussion about whether married students should be allocated flats, when it was not usually difficult for married couples to find private accommodation. Minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 1975 state that places in Griffin Close would only be allocated to married couples where both were students, other than the twenty five units reserved for married couples with children under the agreement between the University and the British Council for overseas and Commonwealth students.
The minutes regularly refer to the possible provision of a social centre for Griffin Close residents, and minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 1976 include a copy of a questionnaire for residents about the provision of social facilities on the site. Minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 1977 refer to the poor response to the questionnaire and the apparent lack of interest in a social centre.
Minutes from the end of 1977 onwards contain references to the impact on Griffin Close of the change in University policy to guarantee that university accommodation would be provided for all first year students. Minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 1979 mention the appointment of a Working Party chaired by the Registrar and appointed by Senate to explore the implications of this, and refer to the proposal that Griffin Close should take a number of first year students, representing almost a quarter of the total population of the complex. The minutes also record the concerns of student members of the committee about a random selection of first year students sharing a flat combined with the lack of social facilities and opportunities for social contact on the site. Minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 1980 refer to the committee's agreement the intake of first year students made it essential that a social centre be provided, together with a Warden and postgraduate Assistant Warden. Minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 1980 mention that a Warden had been appointed for first year students only, and that an advertisement for postgraduate Assistant Wardens would appear in the University Bulletin. The minutes also include a copy of a report by the Secretary, Registrar, and Estates and Buildings Officer on social amenities at Griffin Close, re-examining policy decisions relating to Griffin Close that had been taken by the Planning and Priorities committee and by University Council from 1968 onwards which relate to the provision of social amenities, following a number of opinion surveys of residents. Minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 1981 contain further discussion of the provision of a social centre.
The final meeting of the Griffin Close committee was held on 10 June 1981. Council approved the proposal that the committee should be replaced by a less formal consultative structure for all self-catering flats at its meeting on 24 June 1981 |