NEW COLLEGE PLAN WILL BOOST VILLAGE

Eitan Grant - Eitan Grant • Published 22 Oct 2008 19:30

As many as 150 new jobs could be coming to Lochwinnoch after a maverick developer was given the green light to build a new college.

Entrepreneur Gary Pearson"s dream of constructing an agricultural college on his sprawling Yardfoot Farm estate was given a boost last week when Government officials gave the plan their blessing.

Now the clock is ticking on the huge scheme which Mr Pearson says will provide plenty of jobs for years to come.

He added: 'This will provide as many as 150 jobs to a village where the biggest employer is the local Spar.

'There will be the initial construction jobs and then there will be the staff to run it.

'The Scottish Government was the last hurdle to get over.

'Because I wanted to build an agricultural college I had to answer certain questions and the proposal had conform to certain criteria.

'For instance I had to prove that there was a need for this type of college and it could be justified.

'After looking at the proposals they have now said that they have no objection to the plans.

Mr Pearson spent millions of pounds in the last few years developing a huge garden centre and 44 acre community park on his Lochwinnoch farm but was left with huge bills after road works scuppered its opening weeks.

He said: 'I have spent more than £4 million on this project so far over the last four years.

'There were road works on the A7347 and A760 junctions for nine months as we were about to open, making it impossible to turn over stock.

'The junction is now clear but we have lost a lot of business and we were struggling at first.

'In the park there are acres of inspirational gardens planted to help customers see how the plants look in a more mature setting and expert advice from the park"s designers who run the garden centre.'

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This article appeared in The Gazette 22 Oct 08

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