Local council leaders have formally signed the historic £700 million Tay Cities Deal.
The initiative aims to fund more than 20 major projects and create in excess of 6,000 jobs across Tayside and Fife.
The head of terms of the deal were officially signed in Perth on Thursday morning.
The Scottish and UK governments have each committed to investing up to £150 million throughout a 10-15 year period, subject to the approval of “robust business cases”.
Under the deal more than £60 million will go to the James Hutton Institute in Invergowrie, £37 million of investment will be ploughed into local tourism and culture, more than £10 million will go towards a cyber security centre in Dundee, several million will be invested in St Andrews University’s Eden Campus and £15 million will go towards a Perth bus and rail interchange project.
Below is a list of the commitments agreed within the deal on Thursday:
Tay Cities Deal: The Commitments
Employability and Skills
- £20 million to support the delivery of the Tay Cities Skills and Employability Development Programme to deliver fair work.
- £8.1 million investment from the UK Government in the Aviation Academy for Scotland, a Tayside-wide partnership project aimed at providing specialist training and skills in the aviation industry.
An Innovative, International Tay
- New job opportunities for the people of Dundee, Fife, Perth and Angus through research and innovation – from research and academic posts, to new start-up companies, expansion of existing companies and migration of companies to the region.
Growing the Tay Biomedical Cluster
- £25 million from the Scottish Government to build on the international reputation of drug discovery research capability, and minimally invasive surgical techniques and technologies.
- Aims to make the region one of the most attractive and sought after biomedical locations in the UK.
- A skills development and training package within the Tay Cities Skills Development Programme to support both biotech and medtech priorities by developing technical training facilities and life sciences workforce development at Dundee and Angus College to increase the supply of skilled laboratory staff.
Securing our Food Production and Development Capability
- £20 million from the UK Government to the International Barley Hub at the Invergowrie-based James Hutton Institute, which would become the focal point for barley development in Scotland, the UK and the world.
- £25 million from the UK Government to develop the institute’s Advanced Plant Growth Centre – which should deliver increased commercial, economic and environmental benefits to the agricultural, food and drink sectors in the UK and internationally by innovative use of precision controlled environment technologies.
- £17 million invested by the Scottish Government for both projects.
Strengthening Cyber Resilience and Developing Digital Forensics
- £6 million from the Scottish Government and £5.7 million from the UK Government for the development of the Cyber Security Centre of Excellence.
- The “Cyber Quarter” would be a cluster of academic-commercial activity, providing a co-location space for academia and industry, expertise in applied research and access to a range of public sector support located within the Tay Cities region. The project will capitalise on the existing expertise of Abertay University in ethical hacking.
- £15 million from the UK Government to establish the country’s first Forensic Science Research Centre. Aims to “drive industrial partnership, invest in an Innovation Cluster Development alongside the University of Abertay’s Cyber Quarter working with SMEs and start-ups to exploit new intellectual property and to enter new markets facilitated by the Forensic Science Catapult Centre and build a world-leading vibrant culture of Innovation, Communication and Economy at the University of Dundee”.
Developing a World Class Tourism Offer
- The Scottish Government will invest £37 million, subject to approval of a programme business case, to support a regional culture and tourism investment programme. This aims to build on current tourism offerings at St Andrews, Gleneagles and V&A Dundee.
- Aims to invest in a wide range of assets to ensure that the entire region can continue to develop its national and international visitor offer.
- Programme may provide £10 million in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre (subject to approval of robust business cases/successful securing of match-funding).
- UK Government will invest up to £10 million for the Perth City Transformation project. Aims to transform Perth’s cultural offerings in a way which “responds to both local audiences and tourism visitors” and creates a ‘brand’ for Perth as a major cultural city.
Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing
- £10 million of investment from the Scottish Government in high value manufacturing. This includes £2 million to establish the Tay Cities Engineering Partnership, the first regional engineering and advanced manufacturing network in Scotland.
Capitalising on Design
- £3 million of Scottish Government investment into Studio Dundee, an entrepreneurial hub on Dundee’s waterfront. Aims to become a “flexible and adaptable co-working space” alongside a tech lab which will attract entrepreneurial talent to the city.
Preparing for a Low carbon Future
- Investment in the Eden Campus of St Andrews University (Guardbridge) will include: up to £7 million to develop a primary substation power upgrade at the site, up to £13.5 million for the Scottish Centre for Clean Energy Storage and Conversion and up to £4 million for the Eden Enterprise Hub.
- Subject to “robust business case”, the Scottish Government will invest up to £2 million (alongside Fife Council) in Eden Enterprise to establish a commercially viable business incubator that caters for spin-out and start-up companies from the region’s universities.
- Up to £5.2 million of UK Government investment (subject to robust business case) to support development of two-phase project to build the world’s first advanced plastic reprocessing facility in the Tay Cities Region. Phase one: development of world’s first demonstration Advanced Plastic Reprocessing Facility in Tayside. Phase 2: development of next generation advanced plastic sorting facility to recycle 90%-plus of all household plastics.
Building a World Class Renewable Energy and Decommissioning Industry
- Scottish Government commits to maximising the “significant potential economic benefits of offshore decommissioning to the Tay Cities region”.
- It will work with Dundeecom and the regional economic development partners to maximise opportunities/build supply chain capabilities and new technologies in the context of the wider Scottish and UK industry.
- “Medium to longer term” – the Scottish and UK Governments are considering how best to support additional port infrastructure investment in Dundee, Methil and Montrose.
Infrastructure
- £26.5 million (capital – UK Government investment) in projects in Angus to be developed collaboratively with Angus Council and other local partners as part of the deal.
- Land at Condor to be released for development, working with Angus Council to align the site with their development plans.
- The head of terms on this states: “The UK Government will contribute the net value of the land transferred to the Deal, having taken account of any necessary decontamination and reflected today in the Heads of Terms as £3 million new funding from the UK Government. This is indicative and the ultimate contribution will depend on the land’s final market value and nature of the final business plan.”
- £5 million investment from UK Government in on-site infrastructure to the Regional Logistics, Fulfilment and Business Innovation Park to the west of Perth.
A Connected Tay
- Commitment to improving digital and transport connectivity across the region.
Digital
- Scottish Government to invest £2 million to support 5G testbeds and trials in the Tay region, helping to put it at the forefront of 5G deployment.
- £1 million from the UK Government for connectivity in rural Angus – for an “effective solution to reaching remote and rural properties via high quality wireless solutions”.
- £1 million from UK Government for rural Perth and Kinross – to deliver a fibre asset re-use model “through which public and private fibre infrastructure will be aggregated to create a common platform”.
Transport
- A Tay Cities Regional Transport Model in conjunction with Transport Scotland and TACTRAN.
- £3.5 million from the Scottish Government in a low carbon and active travel transport hub.
- £15 million from the Scottish Government in a Perth bus and rail interchange project. Aims to improve the transport interchange function, provide appropriate parking and offer improved commuter/visitor experience in Perth (subject to detailed consideration/completion and agreement of appropriate appraisal/business case and statutory processes).
- £9.5 million investment from the Scottish Government in and around Dundee Airport. Aimed at improving aviation facilities within the region, improving air traffic control modernisation, securing/marketing new routes and enhancing airport facilities to support passenger growth. Also includes consideration of the “opportunities arising from the Heathrow expansion”.
An Empowered Tay – A New Regional Partnership
- Deal promises a “new approach to economic development, strategic planning and transport planning underpinned by a new approach to city regional governance”.
