THE first stage of the building work on the new Future Farm at Duchy College is nearing completion, as the steel frame is put in place for the Agricultural and Land-Based Skills and Technology Centre.

The £2.1-million scheme is part of a bigger project at the site in Stoke Climsland, which will also see the creation of a unique £3.2-million dairy unit providing applied research and teaching and incorporating new technologies from around the world.

Dr Phil Le Grice, Duchy College, assistant principal, said: 'It's incredible to see the progression of the work and a credit to the contractors who have been working on this.  All of the teams that will use the new Skills Centre, when it is completed in September, are now planning on how to best use the space.'

The Agricultural Skills Centre involves the renovation of a historic grade two listed two-storey barn and the creation of brand new learning and teaching facilities in steel and timber. It will become a state-of-the-art teaching and office space supporting schools and community groups, students, industry and employers in land-based engineering and the traditional rural skills of estate maintenance. It will be the base for the college's partnerships with major machinery manufacturers and its UK and international agricultural and land-based engineering students.

It is hoped that work on the new dairy unit will start in the coming months, after the funding package was agreed by the board of governors. 

Dr Le Grice added: 'This is another major hurdle that we have overcome; now we can start looking at procurement for this project. We have had some fantastic offers of support from within the industry.'

The third phase of the Future Farm development is a new university hub, housing staff, students and visiting industrialists and academics from around the world.

This development, says the college, will place Duchy College and the South West at the heart of the UK's agricultural technology and food security strategies.

To find out more about the project or to follow its progress, visit http://www.duchy.ac.uk">www.duchy.ac.uk or http://www.facebook.com/duchycollege">www.facebook.com/duchycollege