£17m engineering unit at Harper Adams University approved

The project at Harper Adams University has won the final stamp of approval by planning officers.

The project, which has secured government funding, will create a new 'innovation hub' for agricultural technology at the university in Newport.

The plans for new buildings at the edge of a field on the south side of the campus, opposite the new Dairy Crest Innovation Centre, have received backing by Telford & Wrekin Council.

The centre will house offices, a display lobby and project halls and the facility will be used to develop new technologies to benefit farming.

It will serve the Agri-EPI Centre project that aims to become a world-leading centre for excellence in engineering and precision agriculture for the livestock, arable, aquaculture and horticulture sectors.

As well as drawing on expertise specific to these sectors, the project also involves partners in related industries such as supermarkets and vehicle engineering.

Initial areas of interest will include technologies such as drones and new instrumentation to monitor both operations and in-field performance of cropping systems. Funding for the project was secured through the government's strategy for agricultural technologies.

A central feature of the Agri-EPI Centre project will be a series of farms and processing facilities equipped with the latest sensing and imaging equipment.

These sites will enable the centre to identify issues for research, but also provide locations to develop and demonstrate technologies to UK producers, supporting the rapidly expanding global market for these technologies.

The approval for the plans come after it was revealed last week that the Princess Royal will visit the university next month to officially open Dairy Crest's state-of-the-art innovation centre.

Vice-chancellor Dr David Llewellyn said: "We are extremely pleased that the next stage in the development of the Agri-EPI Centre innovation hub at Harper Adams is getting under way.

"We expect construction work to start on site this month and for the building project to be complete next February. In the meantime, we will be working hard with our industry and academic partners to implement our plans for the hub."