Photography by Charlee Innes-Davis

Update: Segments of this article have been fact-checked and removed on Thursday, 5th March, 2026.

UAL is permanently closing Darkroom bar upon the grand opening of their new building complex, set to open at the heart of Elephant and Castle in September 2027. Students and staff alike are aggrieved.

Located opposite Elephant and Castle’s Northern Line station is UAL’s London Communication College, a strange-looking building that seems hard to place among the rest of the area’s recent gentrification; it seems to impersonate something modern, but with its faded multi-coloured tiles and the ancient-looking tower block, you can tell it’s dated.

Home to five-thousand students from over 100 countries, this UAL campus is focused primarily on communication arts: whether you’re studying games design, journalism (go team!) or documentary film, LCC is London’s hub for students aspiring to enter the digital media market. It also helms the only student bar in all six of UAL’s campuses, Darkroom Bar, which every student at LCC can agree is the best bar going. 

The staff are beyond friendly, the drinks are cheaper than anywhere else in the area, and there are enough events held throughout the year to keep your schedule busy. We here at The Pigeon even hold our events (including our upcoming launch party) at the bar. Overall, it’s a great space for communities, societies and friends to gather.

Aside from being rooted in community, the bar remains one of the most consistent employers of students throughout the entirety of UAL’s campuses, and can be used as a shoot location for any student-run film, photography or fashion projects. 

So, the question remains, why close Darkroom? The bar brings in revenue, provides spaces to study and most importantly, is a safe place for students to drink and socialise where other pubs may not be. Looking in-depth at the new building, there are no plans for a new bar.

This raises questions about what spaces remain for student-led community organisation within the new building. With no dedicated social hub announced, students are worried that informal spaces like the bar, which historically have facilitated the organisation of groups and communal discussion, are being lost.

Furthermore, the shift seems to align with a larger pattern in UAL’s recent growth strategy, which itself has emphasised financial expansion, corporate partnerships and large-scale capital investments. By removing an informal third-space like the student bar, the university moves away from fostering a strong, artistic student community and instead transforms into an experience rather than anything truly tangible.

The removal of the Darkroom is not the university’s only indicator of its priorities. The new building will hold over 5,000 students, which will see LCC’s current building permanently closed. This, combined with UAL’s continued partnership with controversial Israeli-owned businesses, reads as a striking business choice which favours profits over people.

A recent petition has been opened by Zaine Cowan, the LCC Student Union Officer, to save the Darkroom Bar. It has 440 signatures at the time of writing.

If you wish to sign the petition, please click here.