The Scottish Government has evaluated a regeneration fund that has stood for a decade, with the results bringing positive news.
Originally established through the European Regional Development Fund, the Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE) fund was used to provide commercial loans to infrastructure and energy efficiency projects. The evaluation of the fund showed that it enabled major social, economic, and environmental benefits, whilst also supporting the creation of over 5,000 jobs.
According to the evaluation, it was also found that SPRUCE was able to achieve strong leverage from third parties, with £425 million of capital being invested. As SPRUCE provided 26% of the total funding requirement of the projects that were supported, the total developments costs exceeded £519.1 million. 18 urban development and energy efficiency projects were also supported by the fund, with these helping to deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits across Scotland that would not have been possible if SPRUCE funding wasn’t available.
Other findings include:
- More than 5,100 jobs were created.
- 88 enterprises were supported.
- More than 100,000 square meters of business space was either created or modified.
- Approximately 11,000 tonnes of carbon emission savings were delivered through Biomass projects.
Joe FitzPatrick, Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning, said:
“The SPRUCE fund has created thousands of jobs and the total project development costs of more than half a billion pounds has delivered new infrastructure, supported the economy and transformed our communities for the better.
“Despite operating during a very challenging period, which covered the recovery from the financial crisis, Britain’s departure from the EU and the Covid pandemic, it is clear that SPRUCE contributed significantly to Scotland’s economic strategy.
“The impact of some of the projects has enabled wider regeneration of areas which otherwise would not have happened in the absence of SPRUCE. The Guardbridge project in St Andrew is a good example of this.”
