HIE funding for community innovation campus in Easter Ross

The Gro For You Community Innovation Campus in Tain, led by Farmer Jones Academy (FJA), operates from leased premises in Tain with a learning centre and small café.

Planning permission has been secured for the development of a community innovation campus, which will also serve as a vital tourism hub along the North Coast 500 route.

A new training centre will be developed and facilities for visitors will be installed such as waste disposal for campervans and electric vehicle charging points. Other activities will include interactive net zero waste and sustainability training courses and workshops, sustainable tourism initiatives and zero waste food production.

Around 220 students are enrolled for the one-year Foundation Apprenticeship in hospitality, helping young people gain valuable, real-world work experience and access vocational training while still at school. The new hub will offer more space for training in food technologies and hospitality.

It is planned to open in 2026 and is expected to attract 26,000 visitors each year, create more than 20 full-time jobs and provide apprenticeships for young people.

HIE’s contribution is for site development and servicing for phase one.  

Brian Robson, senior development manager at HIE, said:

“This project will help address skills shortages particularly in the hospitality sector and enhance the tourism offering on a popular tourist route. It has the potential to address important regional challenges and boost the local economy through employability, education and tourism.

“The new campus will create skilled jobs and will demonstrate net zero initiatives, helping us on the journey to a low carbon region and helping Scotland to achieve its net zero targets.”

Co-founder and chief executive of FJA, Sarah Mackenzie, said:

“This project offers a catalogue of community and economic benefits that will provide solutions to challenges that Highland rural communities face. We are very pleased with the support that we have received from HIE as we work towards developing our site.

“We are seeing first-hand the challenges faced by young people and we hope that a transformational innovation campus will be of great benefit to our local community and future generations by providing accessible training and learning opportunities, transferable skills for young people and community facilities.”

Ends.