A solution to the dispute over the proposal to alter the closing time of the communal area adjoined to King’s College bar has been put forward.

The "Bar Compromise Solution", which has been published on the KCSU website, proposes to bring back the closing time of the common room to 1am on weeknights whilst retaining the current weekend closing time of 2am, on the condition that users "respect the area and act responsibly".

Under the proposal, the area will be patrolled by porters every 15 minutes to ensure that no alcohol is present and no disorderly behaviour is taking place. Any breach of the conditions will be presented in a review to be conducted near the end of the current term.

A working party of students liaised with College authorities to draw up the compromise solution. It is supported by designated premises supervisor (or ‘licensee’) Dr David Munday, Lay Dean Dr John Barber, Admissions Tutor Dr Stefan Uhlig, as well as the Head Porter.

However, other options are being kept on the table. One of these is the potential renovation of the cellar as a JCR. This would involve the carpeting of the cellar and the introduction of a range of furniture and conveniences including sofas, a flat screen TV and a filter coffee machine.

The news follows an emergency meeting on October 19th, at which Dr Munday stated that licensing laws do not allow the common room to remain open after the bar itself has closed, unless a member of staff is present.

He proposed a drinking-up time of 30 minutes after the closure of the bar, after which the common room would be locked. Police regard the consumption of alcohol after the bar has closed as equivalent to a lock-in, he said, adding that he had a duty to prevent disorderly behaviour.

Many students at the meeting objected to Dr Munday’s proposal, but Drs. Uhlig and Barber, who were also present, hoped that a compromise could be reached.

Although the working party voted unanimously to support the proposed solution, King’s members were also given the opportunity to ballot on the compromise at the KCSU website. At the time of writing, all of the 45 participants in the poll had voted in favour of the compromise.