A NEW food and drink industry hub called SeedPod has won £10 million of capital funding from the UK Government and Scottish Government.
It is described as the single largest public sector investment in the food and drink industry in Scotland, for the centre in the north east of the country.
Led by private sector catalyst ONE (Opportunity North East), SeedPod is due to open in 2022 and involves a total investment of £21m, including £4.4m of funding from ONE.
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SeedPod will be a new-build facility located on Scotland’s Rural College’s campus which is close to transport links.
The appointment of Glasgow-based Keppie Design Limited as architect and lead consultant was also announced.
Patrick Machray, chair of the ONE Food, Drink & Agriculture sector board and Food Hub (NES) Limited, the new company formed to deliver the SeedPod project, said “the ambition with industry is to grow the sector in the region by five per cent per annum, doubling outputs and exports by 2030”.
He also said: “It will be the go-to place for evolving existing businesses, inspire and develop the next generation of producers in the region, and deliver national impacts for the sector.”
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