Inverness Campus to get new £4.5million life sciences centre

The new building – to be called Solasta House – will be a twin to the existing Aurora House, which was completed two years ago.

Planning permission for the project was approved by local authority officials under delegated powers in April and now campus bosses at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) have invited tenders for the work. At almost 25,000sq ft, the new Solasta House will be built over two floors, with the plot being one of six at the site with "life science enterprise area" status.

It has been designed by Threesixty Architecture and work could begin in January, with completion penciled in for 12 months later. The deadline for the contract, which was published yesterday, is November 6.

HIE said it was "encouraged by strong pipeline demand" to approve the second building on Plot 8 at the campus. Five companies  – Aqua Pharma, 4C Engineering, Interactive Health, Corporate Health and  Aseptium – already have space in Aurora House, and it is expected to be full by early next year.

Solasta House is also expected to be targeted at life science and technology companies, and at least 40% of the funding for the construction project will come from the European Regional Development Fund, with the remainder from HIE. The scheme represents the latest phase in the development of Inverness Campus, which opened to the public in May 2015.

The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is also due to build a £30million health school at the campus, next to NHS Highland’s proposed new elective care centre.

And HIE is also developing plans to build a new four or five-star hotel at the campus to help tackle a shortage of beds in the city.

In May, HIE said it wanted to hear proposals from the hotel industry on any scheme that would deliver "social benefits", which could include offering training opportunities for young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.