Year-round maintenance and repair are essential to preserve Magdalen’s historic buildings. We always aim to keep disruption caused by this work to a minimum, but it is not always possible.
The extensive refurbishment of Longwall House and 1-7 Longwall Street has meant the closure of a lane on Longwall Street to allow for scaffolding, and we are grateful to everyone for their patience during this time.
The work involves repairs to the timber frame of the buildings, re-rendering, updates to electrical and mechanical systems, and changes to internal structures to improve access.
Unfortunately, when the work began, it became clear that the timber frames were more deteriorated than expected. We also discovered serious structural defects when we removed the render. Consequently, the work has taken longer than we had hoped.
In addition, as these are listed buildings, we have used conservation accredited engineering principles for all repairs, which takes a little longer.
Based on the latest programme, the scaffolding will be removed and the lane re-opened by 31 July.