Scotland's Rural College plans £7m rural centre of excellence in Inverness
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SCOTLAND'S Rural College (SRUC) is appealing for public support to create a £7 million centre of excellence in Inverness.
With the sale of its Drummondhill to Tulloch Homes, resulting in the closure of its post-mortem facilities in Inverness, three of SRUC's other services will find a new home within Highlands and Islands Enterprise's An Lòchran building at Inverness Campus.
SRUC's five-strong veterinary services team, along with the team in the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS), will move to Inverness Campus to work alongside the existing SRUC Epidemiology Research Unit at the end of May.
To support the relocation, SRUC colleagues working in SAC Consulting at An Lòchran are moving to a new home at Alcaig Farm, near Conon Bridge.
The new countryside location is a few miles from Dingwall Mart and will be more convenient for farmers.
The move is the first step towards the creation of a £7 million ground-breaking Rural Veterinary Hub at the Inverness Campus, in partnership with HIE. SRUC has already announced that it will invest over £2.8 million in the project and is seeking public support to raise the remainder.
George Gunn, head of veterinary epidemiology at SRUC, said: "SRUC has already set aside £2 million for investment and development of a new Rural Veterinary Hub at the Inverness Campus.
"We are actively seeking additional funding, from a variety of sources, to make this a world-class centre for animal health-related research, innovation and linked business development. Our new hub, working in partnership with many others, will offer real economic benefits and make Inverness a leading area for this important aspect of regional sustainability."
The new Rural Veterinary Hub will include cutting-edge facilities for SRUC's disease surveillance team to support post-mortem examinations. The hub is part of SRUC's wider transformation plan to become Scotland's enterprise university for the rural sector.
Dean of SRUC's North Faculty, Caroline Argo, said: "SRUC has a long history in Inverness and we're looking forward to being part of a new centre of excellence with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. We are developing further plans for Inverness and seeking funding for an exciting new venture that will provide a real benefit to the region.
"The decision to end post-mortem examinations in Inverness was not taken lightly. Disease vigilance is vital for the whole of Scotland and we are here to support livestock vets across the region so there is a minimal effect on services.
"The move supports an approach from SRUC Veterinary Services to move away from post-mortem provision and instead work with veterinary practices to support the diagnosis, the control and the prevention of disease. Ultimately this will be to the greater benefit of the livestock producers and the animals they care for, across the whole of the Highlands."
Colin Manson, chairman of the Inverness Veterinary Services Stakeholder Group, said he was sorry to see local post-mortem facilities go, but welcomed SRUC's commitment to invest in the new hub at Inverness Campus.
"The future facilities should reassure people," he continued.
"In the interim period, it's good to see the support for farm vets, they should be the first contact for farmers for cases normally. It's good to hear that the team from the Inverness disease surveillance team will be on hand to support sample collection on site as well."
Phone numbers for all services and SRUC contacts in the area remain the same.
