Full Refurbishment Reinvigorates The Drill
The Drill, Lincoln, has recently completed its much-needed repair and refurbishment works programme, bringing a modern and vibrant feel to the popular venue.
Banks Long & Co’s Building & Cost Consultancy team, who provided Project Management and Quantity Surveying services, worked for the new owners, Lincoln College Group, on the £1.3m project.
In 2020 the venue was temporarily closed after being severely impacted by the pandemic and loss of funding. In 2021, The Drill was taken over by Lincoln College Group. This has brought a new chapter for this historic building and the upgrades that have taken place to allow the venue to be brought up to contemporary standards.
The project included refurbishment of the entrance foyer, and bar area, along with kitchen and dining facility upgrades within the existing building. The College have aspirations of improving the dining and bar facilities to make the venue more attractive to the local and wider markets and to provide their students with an opportunity to observe and develop their skills in a real environment to become employer ready. A mechanical and electrical upgrade also took place which included a new modern lighting scheme to create a more vibrant experience for visitors. Also included were repairs to the auditorium and back of house rooms used by performers. The rooms had previously been damaged by water leaks and were in an increasing state of disrepair.
The multi-purpose community hub will continue its use as a live act venue to ensure it can be enjoyed by the public, with many performances scheduled for this year including Stereo MC’s, Bez and the Lincoln Beer Festival.
Banks Long & Co Project Manager Lewis Potter said; “It was great to work on a venue that I have previously attended many times with my family. I’m looking forward to showing them all the improvements the venue has to offer.”
Nick Pettit, Lincoln College Group, said ‘‘It’s been great working in partnership with Banks Long & Co to rejuvenate the venue. From overseeing the design through to the finished project, Lewis Potter and his team kept the whole project on track from a delivery and cost perspective. Their support of the Lincoln College Group was invaluable to the project. I would highly recommend Banks Long & Co as they exemplified the college ethos of a one team approach, they also significantly decreased the stress for us as a client.’’