Throughout this global period of uncertainty, one thing remains crystal clear; the College is preparing its Lackham campus for the 21st Century, and beyond, to train the farmers, agricultural engineers and animal care professionals of the future.
Following £22million of investment from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) in 2017, the College has been actively refurbishing and building at both its Salisbury and Lackham campuses.
On the Salisbury site, old buildings have been razed to the ground making way for a modern new building which will house new classrooms and facilities, existing teaching areas have been fully refurbished, while the entire exterior has been reclad, aligning both old and new facades with a contemporary veneer.
But it is the Lackham campus that is drawing the gaze of the land-based world with new buildings and facilities being developed, including a wholly robotic dairy, that will position the College as a centre of excellence across the region.
The bespoke £9million development project there is well underway, with some projects already complete. The Animal Centre has been rebuilt to modern zoo standards, while former classrooms and science labs have been transformed into an impressive Exotic Centre featuring large vivaria, which will house reptiles, birds and fish.
The master project has also seen the transformation of the manor house into a Higher Education Teaching Centre, enabling the College to further grow its university level offering over the next two years to include degrees in Environmental Science and Sustainability and HNDs in Agri-Tech and Agri-Business Management.
Photographs reveal the state-of-the-art Agri-tech building, which is currently under construction, will become the centrepiece of the Lackham campus. The new building will lead the way in the region in teaching the latest technological advances in agriculture, equipping the next generation with the skillset needed in the ever-developing farming world.
The College, in partnership with the T H WHITE group and DeLaval, will also become one of the first in the country to have a robotic dairy parlour, supporting the development of a dedicated undergraduate Dairy Engineering qualification. The existing 140-cow dairy unit will be augmented with a new robotic milking parlour featuring two robotic milking units, an advanced slurry control system and a day/night LED lighting system.
And as the campus takes shape in this new era, the College is reviewing its area of farmland with some tenanted land being vacated from September 2020 to focus teaching and learning in areas with more potential to optimise the student experience.
The College continues to work with employers in the region to ensure students are being taught skills that transcend the classroom. Students at Lackham will gain valuable hands-on experience in driverless tractors, drones, robotics and will gain other digital skills, giving them the toolkit needed to go straight into the workplace and make a positive impact.
