Centre for Health Science (Ionad Eolas Slainte) strategic setting for HIE board meeting

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will be holding its next public board meeting at the Centre for Health Science (Ionad Eòlas Slàinte) in Inverness on Tuesday 5 December 2006.

The Centre for Health Science is a £23m state-of-the art facility for healthcare and biotechnology research, education and business development, funded by HIE with a contribution from the European Regional Development Fund. It is located on the Raigmore Hospital campus on Old Perth Road.

Phase one of the centre opened last month. Construction is now underway on phase two and phase three is due to be completed by March 2008.

Stuart Black, chief executive for HIE Inverness and East Highland, will begin proceedings at the meeting with a presentation on the facilities, services and future objectives of the Centre for Health Science.

HIE chairman William Roe said: "The Centre for Health Science is a particularly apposite venue for our second public board meeting because it represents one of HIE's key strategic projects; one that we are extremely proud to be investing in, not least because it will ultimately create 370 high quality jobs in the area.

"This ground-breaking facility is set to become a leader in the life sciences field, focusing on multi-disciplinary healthcare research and education, high-tech business incubation, as well as a range of health services from both the public and private sectors. For example, the building will be home to the Centre for Rural Health which is a joint venture between Aberdeen University and UHI Millennium Institute, as well as the proposed Diabetes Institute involving UHI, NHS Highland and Lifescan Scotland Limited."

Included on the agenda will be HIE's response to the consultation paper on Scotland's first Coastal and Marine National Park, a discussion on the network's action plan in response to the Scottish Executive's strategy to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (the NEET strategy), and the draft HIE operating plan 2007-2010.

Members of the public are invited to the meeting as observers and will be welcome to attend for all or part of the agenda, which can be read in advance from Thursday 30 November on the HIE website.

Board members and senior staff will join those attending during tea and coffee at 1.30pm with business getting underway at 2pm.

HIE conducts eight board meetings annually at various venues around the Highlands and Islands.