Lincoln Castle to close for three months ahead of big reveal
Six months to go: The £22 million project to restore Lincoln Castle is in its final phase and staff are preparing to close the attraction for four months ahead of the big reveal.
The £22 million project to restore Lincoln Castle is in its final phase and staff are preparing to close the attraction for three months ahead of the big reveal.
Heritage developers are preparing to bow out after their part, as the project comes to a close in December.
From January to March 2015, staff will close the castle gates in order to make final preparations for the 2015 celebrations.
With six months to go before the April launch, Lincoln businesses are also preparing for a tourism boost.
Through the dedication of what developers have described as “a cast of hundreds”, the building is reaching the end of a 4-year makeover, complete with new modern facilities and educational installations.
Independent businesses from B&Bs to restaurants, and prominent project figures were invited to the Epic Centre at the Lincolnshire Showground on Tuesday, September 23, to learn about the project to date.
Approximately 150,000 people visit Lincoln Castle every year. An independent assessment concluded that the wider Lincoln Castle Revealed project could lead to a 29-55% increase in the overall value of Lincoln tourism.
This translates to a £36-68 million boost for the local economy and around 600-1,100 new jobs.
The renovations to the historic site include completion of the complete circuit castle walls (£4.9m), refurbishment of Lincoln Castle Prison and the new Magna Carta vault (£5.4m) and the The Heritage Skills Centre, which sustains traditional crafts (£1.5m).
The conference marked a poignant moment for construction company Woodhead Heritage, who are set to conclude works in time for Christmas 2014.
Simon Butler, Conservation Manager for Woodhead Heritage, said: “The Christmas completion date that we are looking at is seeming really soon. It’s going to be weird for me and the team as it’s been such a big part of our lives for so long.
“This is a historic building and an impressive monument. There was always going to be complications, the archeology is a great example.
“We were putting in the foundations for the lift tower when we started to find bone and then a Saxon Sarcophagus and a Saxon church that we never even knew was there.
“They are really great and interesting problems to have, but we did have to work out how to build around that issue.
“I look forward to returning as a visitor and experiencing the great attraction for myself.”
Tourism Development Manager at Lincolnshire County Council, Mary Powell, said: “Setting that six-month countdown is a very exciting thing to be able to do.
“We’ve invited business and tourism representatives to the conference today so that they get to grips with the scale of the project and what we have managed to achieve.
“I think that businesses should be preparing for a tourism boost when 2015 comes around. We saw Lincoln Castle as a catalyst for tourism and I think it’s important that people make the most of it.
“When I called the project Lincoln Castle Revealed I didn’t realise the significance of the word ‘revealed’.
“It becomes more and more evident that we are opening up buildings that have never been seen by the public before, we are revealing sections of the wall that people have never been able to walk along before, but also we are revealing fascinating discoveries that we have found throughout the archeology.
“Of course when we discovered the Saxon skeletons under the castle foundations that was an extremely important moment. We are still waiting on DNA results from the tests we carried out.
“We have had a facial reconstruction done of one of the Saxons which was fascinating. There was even a member of the team who had a PHD in noses behind that particular project.”
Architects behind the project have undertaken late design changes in order to dedicate three rooms to exhibit the discoveries made during the project.
The exhibition will be found within the female ward of the refurbished Victorian prison.
As part of the 2015 tourism preparations, Destination Management Organisations Visit Lincoln and Visit East Lincolnshire announced they will work with over 1,000 members of staff in the nationally-recognised Worldhost Customer Service qualification.
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It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.
There have been 285 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and eight COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 7% drop in cases and one less death from the previous week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 32 new cases in Lincolnshire, eight in North Lincolnshire and three in North East Lincolnshire.
On April 16, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported two hospitals this week so far, compared to none this time last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 2,596 to 4,383,732, while deaths rose by 34 to 127,225.
In local news, Lincolnshire health bosses expect COVID-19 cases to rise in our region as lockdown is eased, but are optimistic that if numbers are kept low enough, then people will be free to enjoy the summer.
Andy Fox, Deputy Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council, said the lifting of coronavirus restrictions this week had not caused any specific concerns yet.
Since Wednesday, Greater Lincolnshire has again seen a decrease in its infection rates overall, against an increase nationally.
All districts have seen a fall in their rates, except small increases in North Lincolnshire and South Holland. Lincoln has stayed the same and has the lowest rate in the region.
Boston has the highest infection rate of COVID-19 in Greater Lincolnshire and is ranked 9th in the UK.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 16:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 9 to Apr 16. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
England’s R number has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and 1 according to the latest data this week. This means for every 10 people infected with COVID-19, they will pass it on to between seven and 10 others.
The new Indian variant of the COVID virus that’s been detected in the UK has all the hallmarks of a very dangerous virus.
It has two new significant mutations in the spike protein that help it infect cells and evade the immune system.
People are “likely” to need a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine within 12 months of getting the first two, Pfizer’s chief executive has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said a booster jab could be necessary “somewhere between six and 12 months” after the second one – and every year thereafter.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 16
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,919 cases (up 43)
41,028 in Lincolnshire (up 32)
9,275 in North Lincolnshire (up eight)
8,616 in North East Lincolnshire (up three)
2,185 deaths (up three)
1,613 from Lincolnshire (up three)
304 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (no change)
810 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,383,732 UK cases, 127,225 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Plans to demolish part of a former play centre and Chinese takeaway to build 41 new student flats, have been submitted to the City of Lincoln Council.
Killingbeck PLG has applied for permission to demolish “most” of the existing facade of the former home of Imagination Station and Big Wok, on Beaumont Fee, and rebuild it as part of the development.
The main hall, a warehouse and a recently built “link block” to the rear of the building will also be demolished, and will be completely replaced with a new extension.
In documents to the council, the applicant describes how the 41”study bedrooms” will be en-suite and open off a central circulation area.
The build will form part of the Iconinc post-graduate residential units development next door and will sit opposite the Park Court student accommodation on Park Street.
It will include 12 apartments on the ground floor, 11 at first and second floor and seven units on the third floor.
How the build could look.
The application said: “There is a clear need for good quality, post-graduate, city centre, residential accommodation and the economic case for the redevelopment of the site is reinforced by the fact the site can be linked with the new Iconic development so amenities can be shared.
“The demolition of the existing property and the proposed redevelopment will bring positive benefits to the area economically and aesthetically.”
As part of the build, residents will gain shared access to existing facilities including the gym.
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