The back gate at Royal Holloway is closed at 11:15pm Sunday-Thursday and 12:45am Friday-Saturday. This leaves students and staff with no option but to walk down Egham Hill, next to a busy main road in the early hours of the morning. 

Students returning from the library (which is open 24hrs) and from students union function nights have to take alternative routes to get home safely. Accessing the estate around the back gate area via a different route requires walking through more residential areas. This could cause distress to local residents who do not want to be disturbed by noise.

Many students have taken to dangerously climbing the fence and risking their health so as to avoid a 20 minute diversion to their journey when it is late and cold.

The university argues that the back gate needs to be closed for security reasons, yet the side gate and main entrance remain open 24/7.

We believe a key card access system or a later closing time would be extremely beneficial to both the student and local community.