Lincoln: Students forced to move after university flats fire inspection

The fire safety work at The Gateway in Lincoln is expected to cause substantial disruption for some time

About 500 university students are being forced to leave their accommodation due to fire safety concerns.

It comes after an independent survey commissioned by the University of Lincoln recommended several fire safety improvements at The Gateway.

The university said it would relocate all tenants of the Ruston Way site to new accommodation in the coming weeks.

In a letter to students, the university said additional fire marshals would be in place until everyone had been moved.

The safety of students was "our utmost priority", the university added.

The work would create substantial disruption to tenants if carried out while the building was occupied, officials said.

Judith Carey, who looks after student wellbeing at the university, said: "It is an upheaval, and none of us would have wanted to be in this position, but we are offering support and guidance."

Where possible, students would be moved in groups with their friends and would be offered a £500 disruption payment, she said.

"It is quite a lot of money for the university, but we feel that making a disruption payment is absolutely the right thing to do," Ms Carey added.

'So stressed'

Student Liam, 18, who has only recently moved into The Gateway, said he had been told the work could take months to complete.

"It's a hassle, really, especially when I'm just in the first year and I'm from Sheffield so I don't really know many people here," he said.

"It's stressful doing it all again while still going to lectures."

Meanwhile, other University of Lincoln students were also concerned the move would see them separated from their friends.

Poppy Kelly, 18, who is studying public relations and PR, said she was in shared accommodation.

"We've only really just started to get to know each other and now we are probably not going to see each other again."

Ms Kelly added that the move was also affecting her education.

"I missed my lecture yesterday because I was so stressed. I was crying [and] didn't really know what to do," she said.

Liam, who lives in The Gateway, said he had been told the work could take months to complete

Sruthi Ravikumar, 26, said she would have to move out later this week, but had still not been told where she was going.

She said it felt like she was "homeless all of a sudden".

The Gateway is leased by the university, but owned by private landlords.

The BBC has approached the building's owners for a comment.