The Chief Executive of Lancashire County Council has visited the new Health Innovation Campus at Lancaster University to learn more about the “exciting” project.

The £41m campus – part-funded by Lancashire Enterprise Partnership growth deal investment – will bring together researchers, healthcare professionals, businesses, local authorities and policy-makers, to collaborate on improving health in the region.

Angie Ridgwell met with Dr Sherry Kothari, Director of the Health Innovation Campus, to discuss the project’s aims and ambitions – as well as receive an update on the construction of the new campus, which is set to open in spring 2020.

Dr Kothari said: “It was fantastic to welcome Angie to the Health Innovation Campus to share our vision for improving health in the region and discuss how the work of the council fits into those plans and what we can collectively achieve.

“Health and wellbeing is on the cusp of a paradigm shift, with a greater focus on improving health outcomes and maintaining good health rather than treating illness. This requires a systems approach, involving people across a wide range of sectors and disciplines coming together to work on better solutions.

“The county council has been very supportive of developments to date and is one of our key stakeholders as we move forward so it was great to see how enthusiastic Angie was about the type of projects we will be looking to take forward.”

During the visit, Ms Ridgwell was given a full tour of the new facilities which will provide a home for the Health Innovation Campus team, as well as Lancaster University’s medical school and the Division of Health Research.

It also features co-location space for businesses wishing to collaborate with partners on health-related initiatives – or those looking to further explore business opportunities in this area.

Ms Ridgwell, chief executive and director of resources at Lancashire County Council, said: “It was great to see the progress being made in the construction of this exciting project.

“The campus will act as a catalyst in helping to tackle some of the bigger challenges in healthcare by bringing together researchers, healthcare professionals, businesses, policy-makers and local authorities, like the county council.

“It will also help to bring more inward investment to the county, and underline Lancaster University's position as one of the country's top learning establishments.”

To find out more about opportunities with the Health Innovation Campus, contact the team at HIC@lancaster.ac.uk or visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/health-innovation

Development of the new campus has been supported by Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal funding, as well as the European Regional Development Fund.