Getting hands-on as university officially unveils new £40m vet school in city

Preston is now home to one of just 11 vet schools in the country, and only the second in the north of England.

- by Ed Walker

The University of Central Lancashire's £40m new building will train the vets of the future and help bridge a growing recruitment crisis as vets struggle to cope with rising demand from animal lovers.

Opening the building, which has been under construction in Victoria Street since summer 2023, the university's vice-chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin said they were committed to widening access to the veterinary science and wider medical professions.

He said: "It's fantastic. This is a culmination of years of ambition and planning and to see it come to fruition in this fantastic building.

"I made a comment earlier about it's clad in gold so it stands out. Some very, very significant state-of-the-art facilities that will provide a fantastic opportunity for the vet students of the future.

"We've always offered the fundamental science programs with a long history of achieving that.