A University of Lincoln accommodation building remains empty almost one year on since students were forced to move out. Around 500 tenants at The Gateway on Ruston Way, Lincoln, were told in October last year that they must vacate within a week due to fire safety issues with the building.
The students, who were mainly in their first year and “distraught” at the time, were also offered £500 each for the disruption it caused to their university experience. It came after an independent fire safety assessment was carried out on The Gateway and a number of recommendations to improve fire safety were made.
These included improvements to fire stopping and stairwells to enhance internal fire compartmentation. Only the offices at the bottom of the building are still in use while hundreds of apartments sit empty on the floors above.
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Work on the building is expected to last several months. The university has confirmed that surveying work has begun, but no students will be able to move in until all the work is completed. This means that The Gateway will not be available to live in until at least the next academic year.
A spokesperson for the University of Lincoln said: “Surveying work by the landlord has begun in the building, and we’re hopeful we can once again open the Gateway as an option to students once work has completed.”
Thousands of students recently flooded into the city as the 2023/24 academic year began on Monday, September 18.