Plans submitted for 400-student medical school
LDRSPlans to open a new 400-student medical school in a former sports hall have been submitted by the University of Wolverhampton.
The application proposes retrofitting the university's redundant city campus sports facilities to make way for the new Black Country Medical School.
The work would convert the gymnasium and some of the university's student union facilities in the Ambika Paul Building into new classrooms and clinical teaching spaces.
The application said the new medical school would "bring new life to an historically underused building".
Empty squash courts would be converted into a mock hospital room to allow students to practice real-world scenarios.
The medical school is expected to take in its first students from September 2027.
A statement included with the application to the city council 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," it added.
The university has teamed up with the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust to help create the school.
The university has also recently joined Aston Medical School in Birmingham to help design its curriculum.
It would also be closing its Telford campus to cut costs, with students transferred to Wolverhampton and Walsall.
This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.
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