Medical school at university site approved

Plans to open a new medical school at a former sports hall in Wolverhampton have been approved.

University of Wolverhampton will turn its redundant city campus sports facilities into the new Black Country Medical School, which is expected to welcome students from September next year.

Converting a gymnasium and some student union facilities in the Ambika Paul Building into new classrooms and clinical teaching spaces has been proposed, along with turning empty squash courts into a mock hospital room.

City of Wolverhampton Council has given planning permission and the plans suggest the layout would accommodate more than 370 students.

The new medical school would "bring new life to an historically underused building" that had been empty since June last year, the application said.

Approving work, the council's planners said proposals, "if implemented, would enhance the university, creating investment and much needed medical training facilities for the city and wider Black Country".

They added that in this case, the authority was satisfied "the existing sports facility is no longer required to meet current or anticipated 'community' needs and is therefore surplus to requirements".

Information submitted indicated there was adequate alternative provision "within the locality" and the proposed development "would not result in an unacceptable deficiency in sports or recreational opportunities", planners said.

A statement included with the application said the medical school would address a national shortage of UK-trained doctors and "respond to the significant healthcare needs of the Black Country".

"Wolverhampton is well placed to host this development due to its central location within the region and its role in supporting communities with some of the highest levels of deprivation and healthcare inequality."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.