A new £21 million university facility in Lincoln which would help teach the next generation of medical students looks set to get the green light.
Plans for multi-million five storey building have been submitted by the University of Lincoln and were hailed as a step forward for medical education and recruitment in the region.
If approved, the building would be created next to existing science laboratories, the Janet Lane-Claypon Building, and opposite the University’s Isaac Newton Building on the southern edge of the main Brayford Pool Campus.
Now, City of Lincoln Council’s planning committee have been recommended to give final approval at a meeting on March 27.
The five storey building would include:
Ground floor – Two 120 capacity lecture theatres, seminar space, cafe and social learning space.
First floor – Library, science laboratory and project laboratory
Second floor – departmental office space, tutorial spaces and an external roof terrace
Third floor – Empty space to allow for future expansion
Fourth floor – Anatomy suite and clinical skills suite
Fifth floor –Void space above the double height plant floor
A roof terrace is also proposed for the building where students would be able to gather, as well as hold university events.
Designs: UoL
The university has set an aim for the building to be “low carbon” and sustainable.
The building has been designed to meet the BREEAM Excellent environmental standard and features photovoltaic panels generating electricity for its laboratories, as part of the aspiration to be a carbon neutral scheme.
Professor Mary Stuart is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln
University of Lincoln Vice Chancellor Mary Stuart said the school would be an “exciting step forward” for the region.
“It represents more than just a building – it is a commitment to current and future communities in Lincolnshire to develop sustainable healthcare for the region,” she said.
“Soon we will be training our own doctors right here in the heart of Lincoln, creating more opportunities for local young people to aspire to a medical career, providing new routes for experienced clinicians to develop their teaching and research practice, and increasing the likelihood that newly-trained doctors will remain in the region once they qualify.”
Site location for the proposed medical school.
The University of Lincoln and University of Nottingham confirmed in March 2018 they had been successful in their joint bid to establish a new medical school for Lincolnshire.
It followed an announcement in 2017 by the Government of an additional 1,500 medical school training places across England to ease staffing shortages in the NHS.
As the second largest county in England, Lincolnshire has particular healthcare challenges with its rural geography and ageing population and has traditionally struggled to recruit and retain doctors and other healthcare professionals.
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The Lincoln Sports Direct Gym at Witham Park House is set to close permanently this week.
Members of the gym were informed via email that the facility would close at the end of the day on Wednesday, January 26, and would not be reopening.
The gym was the last of the Sports Direct branded fitness facilities in the city, following the closure of the Weaver Road branch in May 2021.
Those registered with the company were told their membership had been transferred to their sister club – Everlast Gyms on Tritton Road.
Everlast Gyms is due to undergo a significant refurbishment, they told them.
Sports Direct Fitness informed members: “If you do not wish to have your membership transferred across, you can cancel your membership immediately and free of charge by sending an email to our cancellations team ([email protected]) before February 28 2022.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support and cannot wait to welcome you to our Tritton Road gym in the near future.”
Meanwhile, the branch’s website and social media pages do not show signs that a closure is imminent.
In recent days, social media promotions encouraging members to ‘refer a friend’ have also created some confusion.
The Lincolnite contacted Sports Direct Fitness, but did not receive a reply before publication.
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