The multi-million-pound scheme will involve research labs, offices and fields set aside for crop trials.

Due to boundary lines, planning issues for the scheme fall under the jurisdiction of Perth and Kinross Council, and in Perth today members of their development control committee had no hesitation in giving unanimous approval.

A range of benefits will come from the plans, committee member Willie Wilson said as he ‘‘warmly” welcomed SCRI’s initiative.

He said, ”It is, in many ways, an historic application and it’s one that I think we should give our wholehearted support to.”

Already, the institute’s work is highly regarded across the UK as a forward-looking birthplace for new crop strains and solutions to a host of agricultural problems.

Mr Wilson, whose comments met with full agreement from the rest of the 15-member committee, called the proposed complex ‘‘a huge opportunity to develop highly skilled, highly paid and scientific jobs.”

It will also mean a major change in the quality of life for the residents of Invergowrie, the councillor continued, and a significant improvement for trunk roads in the eastern Carse of Gowrie.

The plans — which are still in a general form, and will involve more detailed planning permission later — include a full grade separated junction to the west of the Swallow roundabout, which daily acts as a bottleneck for traffic heading into and out of Dundee.

As well as providing new, safer access to Invergowrie and SCRI, the new interchange will reduce the traffic using the roundabout and divert existing cars from Invergowrie’s local roads.

The current arrangements for accessing SCRI and eastern Carse communities through the village — which include hundreds of vehicles passing Invergowrie Primary School every day and were described as ‘‘tortuous” by Mr Wilson — will end, thanks to a condition that the new technology park will include direct access to the A90 junction.