WORK on the first stage of a £9m development at a Wiltshire College & University Centre campus is underway.

The former Animal Centre and outdoor enclosures at Lackham have been demolished to make way for modern rooms which are currently under construction.

Building began in September and has seen former classrooms and science labs transformed into the Exotic Centre featuring large glass tanks, which will house reptiles, birds and fish.

The project will also include the construction of an AgriTech Hub, a system that makes for more efficient agriculture.

As well as this they will build a Robotic Dairy, a machine that monitors cow's health as well as allowing to come and go for milking as they please.

Ian Revill, assistant principal at Lackham, said: “It is an exciting time at Lackham.

“The new buildings will increase aspirations for our Higher Education students and provide an exciting space to show visitors what’s going on around the campus.

“The lobby of the AgriTech Hub will house screens streaming work around the campus, and display data from our new Robotic Dairy all supporting Lackham to be an industry-leader in dairy engineering.”

Lackham farm manager Philip Steans said: “The robotic dairy will improve life for our herd and assist farm staff on a daily basis.

“Not only this, but milking could increase from twice a day for each cow to potentially as high as five times a day and increase each cow’s yield from 10,200 litres per year to as many as 12,000 litres.

"This is achieved at the same time as improving the welfare of the cows through stress reduction and the offering of more choice in their daily activities.”

The development is part of a £22million investment by Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership into the Salisbury and Lackham campuses to meet rural skills requirements for the future.

The project at Lackham, has already seen the transformation of the Georgian manor house into a Higher Education Teaching Centre. This means the college can add to its university level degrees over the next two years to include Environmental Science and Sustainability and Higher National Diplomas in Agri-tech and Agri-Business Management.

Lackham campus is holding an open day on February 1 where the improvements can be viewed. A date of completion has not yet been confirmed.