Harper Adams University unveils £2.2m spending plan
Science laboratories will be extended and extra courses launched as part of a Shropshire university's £2.2 million expansion project.
Leaders at Harper Adams University want to increase the size of the campus at Edgmond on the outskirts of Newport to cope with its high demand for agricultural science courses from students.
The university is in the process of applying for planning permission and it is hoped work will start on the new facilities early next year.
Funding for the work has been secured from the Government and donors, including the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust.
The project has been backed by the Princess Royal, who is the university's chancellor and said she looked forward to seeing the plans come together.
In a statement, Princess Anne said: "What we get on the plate follows a rather more complicated journey that it has in the past. Nature and food is where science starts.
"Science is the element, alongside engineering, that tends to get left out when talking about what agriculture means.
"I have seen a huge change in the way science is being highlighted at Harper Adams – and this is what we are talking about by making sure we have the facilities in absolutely the right place for what will be needed in the future.
"I will look forward to the next addition at Harper Adams and that science element being highlighted."
Dr David Llewellyn, the university's vice-chancellor, said the development would help to address a gap in agricultural science education and that the university would welcome approaches from or leads to potential donors.
He said: "We are determined to continue to deliver world-class education for our students and to ensure that we produce graduates who have the ability to put what they have learned into practice."
No extra jobs would be created, but university leaders said the work would help the university cope with its high demand from students. It already has more than 4,000.
The university was the second highest climber in the Good University Guide 2016 league table, where it was given a place in the top 50. It was also named as the sixth best university in the West Midlands.
