Contractor Novus has delivered refurbishment works to two accommodation buildings at Lancaster University for the new academic year.
The project saw Novus refurbish the living facilities at the George Fox and Chancellor’s Wharf buildings in the city and on the university’s Bailrigg Campus. It carried out complete refurbishment works to 12 kitchens along with 118 bedrooms on the George Fox accommodation block, as well as fully furnished it with new furniture fittings, completed decoration works to communal areas and performed electrical and security upgrades.
At Chancellor’s Wharf the firm completed pre-paint repairs to 900 windows, decorated the building’s exterior and installed 14 Technal external doors across its three floors. The nine-week project was completed ahead of students returning to university for the 2019/2020 academic year.
Lancaster University is a top 10 university as ranked by the Complete University Guide and is home to around 13,000 students, with the Bailrigg campus the largest and most popular place for students to live. Novus completed £1.5m-worth of refurbishment projects across 17 of the university’s accommodation halls in 2018.
Liam Cox, contracts manager at Novus, said: “Having worked alongside Lancaster University and its staff for the past 10 years, we find ourselves in a unique position to be able to carry out the works it needs to be able to allow its students to thrive.
“Education continues to be a sector our clients are tapping into our expertise on to ensure their facilities attract the cream of the crop of the UK’s brightest minds. As such, we’ve been successful in winning a number of new projects in the past 12 months alone.”
Jo Hardman, head of commercial services at Lancaster University, said: “It’s important to remember that living facilities can have as big an impact on students’ wellbeing and happiness in their time at university as where they’re studying, which is why we’re always looking to make sure ours are in the best condition possible.”
The value of the two contracts is £800,000.