Gordon Oliver, Mayor of Torbay, cut the turf to start the building of South Devon College's Energy Centre, based on the Whiterock Business Park in Paignton.

Kier will start construction work next week and the project is on schedule to be complete by the summer of 2013, ready to deliver much needed training to local businesses and individuals. It will also provide R&D facilities for companies wishing to try out new products and technologies, with the opportunity to collaborate on their research with the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth.

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Remembering his years as a student and as governor at the College, Mayor Oliver was well aware of the progress of the College over the years going from strength to strength. Looking to the future, he commented: "In a few years' time we will be paying £10 for a gallon of petrol; we need new technologies to heat our homes and conserve energy. This Centre is at the forefront of new developments - the time is right, and I look forward to coming here again in a year’s time to see this wonderful Centre in action. This sort of development is just what Torbay needs to create jobs and reduce unemployment."

During the turf cutting ceremony, College principal Stephen Criddle announced the signing of the contract for £2.5m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and explained how without this funding the project could not go ahead: "We are indebted to the ERDF, as well as all the other funders, who through their funding are enabling us to create such an exciting and important project, which will play a major role in growing the low carbon sector in the south-west."

(CD)