Work is due to start on United Auction's new £11m Mart at Hill of Drip, Stirling with Bruce Crawford, Scottish Minister for Parliamentary Business conducting a formal turf cutting ceremony.

The ceremony is the culmination of more than four years' of work by Elphinstone and United Auctions, to replace outdated facilities at the nearby Kildean Mart, which will be demolished when the new building is completed.

The 52-acre site at Hill of Drip, will become United Auction's flagship auction market for the farming community in Scotland, supporting some 320 local jobs.

The new mart will consist of a 13,500 sq m facility, designed to meet current standards for animal welfare with associated office facilities. It comprises two sale rings, 417 pens, five paddocks and associated offices (700 sq m) and lettable retail units, specifically for agricultural retail, of some 620 sq m.

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Glasgow-based property development company Elphinstone promised to build a new mart when it acquired United Auctions in 2005. Elphinstone subsequently facilitated a management buy-back of the livestock company and remains involved with the business.

The new auction mart is scheduled to be completed by summer 2009. The demolition of the existing mart at Kildean will enable the potential of the Kildean loop to be unlocked and maximised with a proposed mixed-use regeneration development comprising a new business park, housing and leisure facilities.

Elphinstone will be a partner of Stirling Council and other parties in progressing this multi-million pound transformation of the site, in line with the policies in the local development plan. The project will complement the nearby Raploch regeneration scheme, by providing jobs, extending the range of housing and improving the environment.

(JM)