Plumpton College begins multi-million Agri-Food campus development

Future students at Plumpton College will benefit from a new centre for training, education and skills development.

The college has been awarded £4.4 million in funding to invest in the new Agri-Food Hub being built in the heart of the 2500-acre campus near Lewes.

The centre will provide the agriculture, food and wider land management industries with up-to-date skills training and support for rural businesses post-Brexit.

Principal Jeremy Kerswell said: “Post-Brexit, our sector is going to now rely on a better supply of more highly trained, educated and entrepreneurial entrants. There is a national shortage of skilled technicians in the land-based sector.

"These facilities will allow the college to meet the skill demand through opportunities that are not currently delivered elsewhere in the South East such as teaching in Agri-Food sectors in butchery and bakery. The extra capacity, utilising the latest technology will allow for better research and innovation for these industries and a specialist space for rural businesses to connect, stimulate and embed business improvements and policy, and build links with export markets.”

The two-storey building is collaboratively funded by the college, South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), Virgin Money & East Sussex County Council and the college is hoping it will create a network hub for knowledge transfer, training and business improvement.

Plumpton College which boasts one of the largest college farms in the country, have been investing in improvements to its Farm Enterprise, including farm animal production technologies for its sheep and beef facilities and a new £1.2m pig unit utilising NEDAP technology.

The existing dairy unit now includes the latest automated Lely A5 astronaut milking stations and improvements to cow welfare also sponsored by Lely Atlantic.

The hub is due to be completed winter 2022.

The funding is part of a wider Local Growth Fund of £5.4 million awarded projects aimed at developing the East Sussex economy, improving skills, administered by the SELEP.

Councillor Rupert Simmons, lead member for economy at the County Council, said: “I was delighted to attend the recent Agri-Food Project event at Plumpton College and offer East Sussex County Council’s full support – having been able to secure the much needed investment from Government and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.

The project will help to fill the shortage of skills in the agricultural sector and provide the industry with a much-needed boost as it continues to face the challenges of Brexit and the pandemic.”

READ MORE:

How busy is my GP? The surgeries with the most patients per doctor in Crawley

Look inside £1,250,000 bungalow with 1.5 acres on the market in Horsham

Frustrated Haywards Heath resident says health and safety concerns are stopping litter clean-up on A272