A prominent West Cumbrian building has been bought by a university as demand for its medical courses grow.
The University of Central Lancashire has bought Summergrove, near Whitehaven, which will now provide additional student accommodation within walking distance of its Westlakes campus.
The university delivers courses in medicine and nursing at Westlakes and it is home to the National Centre for Remote and Rural Medicine, which helps train clinicians in all aspects of medicine relating to living and working in remote and rural environments.
It said: “Student numbers have grown rapidly at the campus with an unprecedented increase in applications. The purchase of Summergrove Halls, allows UCLan to expand our student accommodation provision as it is ideally located, within walking distance of both the campus and West Cumberland Hospital, where many students spend time on placements.
“Summergrove Halls also includes facilities such as a restaurant, social space, gym, laundry area, outdoor seating and self-catering kitchen facilities.
“We’re seeing the number of students at Westlakes growing, and our facilities need to expand to keep pace with this growth. This new accommodation, providing additional rooms, will mean we can continue to provide an excellent educational experience for our students, in turn encouraging healthcare professionals to train and work in Cumbria. We’re very grateful to all at Summergrove Halls who have made this new venture possible.”
UCLan will take over ownership of the accommodation in the next couple of months and in the meantime will work with Summergrove Halls to manage the transfer of employees from the hotel to the university.
