Plans for a multi-million pound education and business park which could accommodate thousands of high quality jobs in Inverness have taken a major step forward.

The Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has agreed to invest up to £25m to open up the 120-acre Inverness Campus site at Beechwood Farm, which is bordered by the A9 and A96, a mile and a half east of the city centre.

HIE acquired Beechwood Farm earlier this year, and has already invested or committed £5.4m to buy the land and develop a masterplan in consultation with a range of potential partners and stakeholders.

Funding approved by the HIE Board will be earmarked for site servicing works over the next five years, creating access to transport links and essential services such as water and electricity, as well as attractive landscaping.

The development agency believes Beechwood has the capacity to become a 21st century campus for academic institutions including UHI Millennium Institute (UHI), Inverness College and the Scottish Agricultural College, as well as an outstandingly attractive location for a range of businesses and other organisations.

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HIE envisages that the site will be a premier business location for foreign investment in Scotland when fully developed. It has the capacity to support up to 6,000 jobs by 2030, attract investment of around £300 million, and generate more than £38m for the regional economy every year.

Development of a world-class campus for UHI is also seen as critical in addressing the Highlands and Islands’ current shortage of young people. A recent HIE survey confirmed that the region has around 18,000 fewer 18-30 year-olds when compared with the age profile of Scotland’s population.

Many of the young people surveyed cited the lack of further and higher education opportunities as a key factor in their decision to live outwith the region.

The Board considered a broad range of alternative options at its meeting on Wednesday 16 September, from sanctioning over £43m by preparing the entire site for development at this stage to deferring development of any kind.

The preferred choice won through for its ability to balance the Board's ambitious vision for a high quality campus in the Highland capital with its commitment to support businesses and social enterprises of growth across the Highlands and Islands, and to respond to the specific needs of the region's fragile areas.

The organisation's Chair, William Roe, says the campus development is one of a number of 'transformational projects' HIE is delivering to help the Highlands and Islands achieve sustainable economic growth following the recession.

"Inverness Campus is the biggest project that HIE has ever undertaken," said Mr Roe.

"It's not just a big investment for us. It stands to attract many millions from other sources over the next 20 years, and to have a huge economic impact on the city and the wider region."

(GK/BMcc)