The Board of Management of Inverness College has announced that it is planning to develop its new campus at the Beechwood farm site which is located on the east side of the Highland capital.  

The decision, which has strong support from MSPs and the Highland Council, follows a thorough evaluation process, and extensive consultation with stakeholders over the past twelve months.

After narrowing its options to two sites, the College Board of Management thoroughly investigated all aspects of both - either redeveloping its current base at Longman Road or moving to a new location at Beechwood.

Despite initial reservations around the Beechwood site, chiefly centred on the provision of adequate infrastructure, utilities and transport links, the board has received strong assurances from Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Highland Council that these issues would be fully resolved; thereby opening the way for the delivery of the exciting milestone project at the greenfield site.

As part of the College’s wider consultation process, the board also consulted with college staff and students, the wider community, and the board of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHIMI), for their views.

The board’s decision was made following a thorough evaluation of detailed appraisal reports from construction and property consultants Gardiner and Theobald which listed the key strengths and weakness of both the existing Longman and the Beechwood sites.

The new state-of-the-art campus for Inverness College UHI, which is expected to cost £75 million to build, will enable the college to realise its ambitious vision of creating an iconic, modern, tertiary education facility. The new campus will allow expansion of research and business development as well as further and higher education provision; thereby positioning the college as a major catalyst for the future, economic development of the Highland region and the city of Inverness.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is expected to play a key role in funding the new building, and HIE is committed to spending £25 million on on-site infrastructure to develop the Beechwood site, which recently received outline planning permission.

The College Board will now move to finalise the design of the new building in conjunction with architects Building Design Partnership, while preparing a full project business case for submission to the SFC. If approved, building work is planned to commence in 2012 with the new facility set to open its doors to students in 2014.

Commenting on the board’s announcement, Inverness College chairwoman Mo Shepherd said: “Following a lengthy and necessary deliberation process, it is with a great degree of pride and excitement we’re now able to announce the planned location of our new 21^st century campus.

“Both potential sites were viable for our plans, however, on balance, it was decided Beechwood offers us an opportunity to realise our vision for a new, modern, tertiary education facility which will be the pride of Inverness and the wider Highland region. 

“It should be stressed however, that this decision is only the start of a far wider process, and we will now continue, alongside partners such as HIE and Highland Council, to build upon the huge amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes over the last year or so to ensure this world class project comes to fruition.”

Rebecca Entwistle, the college’s Student Association president, and College Board member, commented: “Throughout this process the board has been strong and unified, with the students’ best interests at the heart of this decision.  

The ultimate goal of this process is to develop an accessible and visionary new college campus, and as this project moves to the next stage the board will continue to guide the project with this goal in mind.”

Welcoming the decision the college principal, John Spencer said: “The Beechwood option provides an integrated solution for the College to realise its tertiary education vision, underpinned by strong relationships with businesses and the development of local, regional and international partnerships. We have an exciting future ahead of us, and we can’t wait to get started.’’

Mark Batho, chief executive of the SFC, said: "We are delighted to be investing in this joint project with Inverness College and HIE which will create an exciting new college campus at Beechwood.  This is a major investment in teaching, learning and research that will benefit Inverness and the Highlands and Islands for many years to come."

In addition to a large contribution from the SFC, the College campus project will depend upon securing funding from Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and other parties, including the College’s own funds.

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For more information contact Barry McPherson at The BIG Partnership on: 0131 555 5522 / 07824 638 457 (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)