2022 celebrated the end of the hugely successful Single Local Growth Fund programme. LEP projects and programmes have delivered economic growth now for over a decade.  In that time, we have secured £400m of investment for projects in Greater Lincolnshire and have delivered 75 growth projects and programmes.  

Together with our many local partners we have made great progress in raising the aspiration and profile of our collective economic ambitions for our diverse, resilient, and remarkable location. Our congratulations and thanks are extended to everyone involved in these varied and challenging projects and programmes, who in partnership with the LEP, are delivering considerable economic impact across our area. 

Lincoln Medical School was established in 2018 with the specific aim of improving the recruitment and retention of doctors in Lincolnshire. This is a joint partnership between the universities of Lincoln and Nottingham. The school, located on the University of Lincoln campus, delivers all the teaching for the University of Nottingham’s Medicine degree programmes. 

The LEP contributed £4.98 million to the development of the medical school through the Single Local Growth Fund Allocation. This investment will enable the delivery of leading-edge research, ensuring that Greater Lincolnshire benefits from the skills and innovation to meet the health and care challenges of the future. 

The Lincoln Medical School is a high-quality 5,682m² integrated teaching facility across five storeys. The building is highly sustainable and environmentally friendly and has solar panels as well as a living green wall of plants. 

Facilities in the school include lecture theatres, seminar rooms and a range of laboratories such as a clinical skills suite and an anatomy suite. The school also houses the Ross Library, a dedicated library for medical students that hosts a variety of flexible study spaces including group rooms, individual spaces and quiet areas. 

Welcoming its first cohort of undergraduate medicine students in September 2019, the medical school has been teaching students for over three years. Second year medicine student Shumile Chishty said: “Almost my entire course is taught in the medical school; it is in a great location in the middle of the campus and is easily accessible.” 

Shumile went on to say: “The facilities at the medical school mean I can do everything for my course under one roof. The study rooms and library in the building are really useful for medicine students as it means we have a dedicated space for our private study. 

“The layout of the building also means that university staff are readily available, as their offices are also in the same building, making them easy to find.” 

The first cohort of around 75 students will graduate in 2024 and will help address Lincolnshire’s historic shortage of medical staff, one of the main aims of the school. Speaking about how the medical school has already impacted the local clinical community, Dr Philip Williams said: “The students have been very active in the local community, volunteering and getting involved with the local BMA division. 

“It’s been great having local medical students who are placed with Lincolnshire practices for their whole five years of study as it allows us to get to know each other. We hope this means that when they qualify they will want to continue living and working in Lincolnshire.” 

You can find more information about the Lincoln Medical School here. For more information about the Greater Lincolnshire LEP’s Single Local Growth Fund projects, click here.