An East Yorkshire high-tech horticultural specialist is behind the build-out of Scotland’s first legal medical cannabis farm.
Glasshouses covering 1.1 hectares have emerged in border hills for the multi-million pound development, with CambridgeHOK behind the challenging project for Hilltop Leaf Ltd.
Preparatory work on the undisclosed, high-security site began last December, starting construction in harsh, snowy conditions in January.
Experts from the Newport firm are now working with the owners to develop the perfect environment inside to grow and supply cannabis medicines to the 海角视频 market.
Noel O’Leary, sales manager at CambridgeHOK, has played a leading role from inception, helping design and develop the glasshouse, secure planning permission at the site and oversee construction.
He said: “It is all systems go for Hilltop now given that we have completed the construction of the glasshouse shell and they have also secured substantial further funding towards the project. It is a really exciting development to be part of.
“Having this facility built and in place was important to Hilltop as it helps them in progressing their licence applications to grow medicinal cannabis products with the Home Office and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
“They are well progressed in that respect and now looking to be supplying cannabis medicines to market by early next year.
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“It is a wonderful project to be involved in and it is exciting to now be working on the second phase where we are putting the growing systems in place to create the perfect environment inside the glasshouse.”
Funding of £690,000 was secured from South of Scotland Enterprise, with another £45,000 from Scottish Enterprise to aid construction Hilltop has raised more than £2 million through the Government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Work included 70,000 tonnes of stone being transported to the location in January to level out the site.
CambridgeHOK worked with long-term partners and Dutch glasshouse specialists Havecon, both now members of Atrium Agri, a global consortium of horticultural specialist companies whose expertise is brought together on such large scale projects.
“It has been challenging given the secluded, isolated location of the facility, and the weather conditions given the time of year we started, but then again a new challenge is always something we are willing to take on,” said Mr O’Leary.
“The initial weeks were very tough when we were getting all the equipment and stone to site. We were battling some harsh conditions, and lots of snow which even prevented cars getting to site. We had trucks delivering materials being pulled by diggers. It was a real team effort though and the client was very helpful at all times.
“We’ve essentially built a large glasshouse in the side of a mountain, but as ever our teams demonstrated excellent planning, organisation, problem solving abilities and no lack of skill in ensuring this facility was constructed on time, in budget and ready for the client to push on with their ambitious plans.”
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Sheltered, free of pesticides and with an abundant clean water supply, it also has potential to harness renewable energy to power its operations.
Hilltop Leaf was launched in 2019 by Hamish Clegg, a former investment banker, and agricultural experts Neil and William Ewart.
Mr Clegg said: “I want to help build the 海角视频 medicinal cannabis industry and be one of the early movers in that,” he said.
“We’re not in it for a quick buck. We have the desire to contribute to the scientific development of medicines to help people in this country. We feel that as a medicine, cannabis and cannabinoids are very under researched and under explored.
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“The NHS hasn’t adopted cannabinoids as a widespread source of product for patients yet, but I think that’s developing.
“There’s also a big unemployment problem in the south of Scotland and there are many healthcare demands in that part of the country that could be helped by introducing medicinal cannabis as a clinical option. We have tonnes of local support. The community, councillors and local MPs all wanted to build a medicinal cannabis business in the area we are in.
“We hope to be a big employer and someone who’s developing the local community in an environmentally friendly way.”