MORE than 20 new jobs could be created if a scheme to set up a hospital and training centre for horses at a York college is approved.

The Minster Veterinary Practice and Askham Bryan College have applied for permission to build the facility with the aim of offering students taking animal-related courses more hands-on education.

The practice, which supplies veterinary surgeons to York race meetings and events such as the Bramham Horse Trials, says the centre, earmarked for land near the college’s science building, would also allow it to increase the services it offers and “promote York within the equine industry”.

Planning statements which have been handed in to City of York Council say the scheme could lead to about 23 jobs, including ten full-time vet roles, four nurses and four grooms. A decision is expected to be made in August.

A report by property company Carter Jonas, the agents for the project, said the college has links stretching back about 40 years with the practice, which treats its sheep and cows and whose vets teach there on courses such as equine management, agriculture and animal management.

“The proposed development will allow students to have regular visits as part of their curriculum offer, as well as providing work experience opportunities,” said the firm. It will ultimately raise the equine profile of York and the region in terms of the educational courses which will be provided by Askham Bryan College and the services offered by Minster Veterinary Practice, with the potential for the promotion of a centre of excellence at the college in the future.

“A wider range of equine courses will therefore be offered by the college as a result of the proposals, resulting in increased student and staff numbers. This will reinforce the status of the college and have an indirect effect on the local economy.”

They also said the proposed site was chosen after the possibility of building the facility on land next to nearby Chapel Lane, which the practice and the college originally looked at, was shelved.

The centre would be housed within a number of buildings and include theatre and intensive care buildings, a stable block, paddocks and trotting strips.