The £15m Stirling Agricultural Centre, designed by Archial Architects, has been officially opened by First Minister Alex Salmond.

The new mart is the single centre of operations for United Auctions' Perth and Kildean businesses - and their new headquarters. The Elphinstone Land development includes a new agricultural centre, retail and office space, restaurant/café as well as car parking facilities.

A landmark building designed to provide opportunities for agricultural and service operators or companies associated with the agricultural industry, Stirling Agricultural Centre is situated two miles west of Stirling close to junction 10 of the M9. The 145,000 sq ft building provides sufficient pennage for some 3,000 cattle or 10,000 sheep.

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Gordon McEwan, Director at Archial Architects, said: "The development involved the relocation of the existing livestock market from its existing site at Kildean. The site at Hill O'Drip comprises over 21 hectares with five hectares forming the development site with the remainder of the land around the development left as fields.

"The main function of the development is to give safe and comfortable conditions for livestock, staff and those attending auctions. Stock held within a livestock auction market are under stress for many reasons - transport, strange environment, excessive noise and enclosed environment - so this development has been designed to alleviate as many of these stresses as possible.

"The design team has sought to provide an imaginative building of traditional forms and high design quality that functions well in its core activity of providing auction facilities within a well-planned, environmentally sustainable and site responsive solution."

The sales rings and ancillary accommodation have been arranged around a central concourse providing a feature which lends itself to a secure meeting and circulation area linking and bringing together all the various units of accommodation. Although the use dictates a large building, the scale and massing has been broken up to give a character more in keeping with a farming complex.

The Archial Group Plc employs around 170 staff in Scotland, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.

(GK/JM)