BUILDING work to transform Wiltshire College & University Centre’s specialist campus at Lackham is progressing well.

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 a £22million investment from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership in 2017, the college has been refurbishing and building at both its Lackham and Salisbury campuses.

New buildings and facilities are being developed at Lackham, including a wholly robotic dairy, that will position the college as a centre of excellence across the region.

The bespoke £9 million development project is well underway with some projects already complete.

A spokesman said: “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 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.

“The state-of-the-art agri-tech building, 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.”

In partnership with T H WHITE group and DeLaval, it will become one of the first in the UK to have a robotic dairy parlour, supporting the development of an undergraduate dairy engineering qualification.