Over 4000 people will have to pay for a new id-card to walk through King’s College in Cambridge, as the college makes local residents pay for access in a new scheme being implemented this month.

Cambridge Labour Parliamentary candidate Daniel Zeichner, a King’s graduate, says he is disappointed that the college has chosen to go ahead with the scheme which was unveiled a few months ago. He believes that any new scheme should be co-ordinated with other colleges, and fears that the end result will be fewer people enjoying one of the loveliest parts of Cambridge:

“King’s clearly faces a dilemma managing the large numbers of visitors wishing to see the Chapel, but I remain unpersuaded that this new charge is the right way forward. The different arrangements for access to different colleges is already baffling to most people and serves to put people off. Colleges benefit considerably from charitable status and need to bear in mind the public benefit which they must offer in return. I suspect that significant numbers of people will choose not to pay for the new id-card -; which will mean fewer visitors. Pleasant for the few, but reduced access for the many. The University of  Cambridge still suffers from the criticism that it is an elite institution, and policies like this will do little to counter that perception.”