Six projects in Scotland are to benefit from more than £100 million of levelling up funding, with regeneration and transport taking the focus.
Coming from the third round of the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund, £122 million is being invested in six projects to improve the lives of people in local communities. This also includes the second-highest funding award that has been allocated to any single project in the round, with £37.4 million that is being invested in the creation of new commercial buildings, cycling and walking routes and electric vehicle infrastructure across North and South Ayrshire. Other projects that are being allocated funding include:
- South of Scotland joint bid – More than £22.8 million to renovate historic sites in Annan and Peebles, with this improving active travel routes on the Clydesdale Way.
- Dumfries and Galloway - £13.7 million of funding to improve transport connectivity that includes EV charging infrastructure, active travel upgrades and new transport hubs in five towns.
- Moray - £18.2 million to transform Elgin town centre, as it looks to become an attractive urban hub for high-productivity businesses.
- Glasgow – Glasgow City Council is being allocated £15 million to improve connectivity into Drumchapel town centre, as well as improving retail opportunities and boosting the local economy.
- South Lanarkshire – The regeneration of Shawfield National Business District thanks to £14.6 million of funding, with this helping to prepare the site for future development which will help to boost employment.
Alister Jack, Scottish Secretary, said:
“It’s fantastic news that these six locally developed projects in north, central and southern Scotland have been given the go-ahead. Sharing £122 million UK Government funding, they will transform communities through improvements such as better, greener transport infrastructure and connectivity, regeneration of buildings and land and creation of education, business, and employment opportunities.
“Our levelling up commitment to communities across Scotland so far stands at almost £2.7 billion. We are focused on working with local partners to deliver the change that the country needs to put the UK on the right path for the future.”
These projects are building on the funding that has already been allocated to levelling up Scotland, with work already underway on initiatives such as that to restore Edinburgh’s iconic Granton gasholder as part of wider aims to regenerate the waterfront. Sustainability and tourism work is also ongoing in Inverness, with the Levelling Up Fund backing a project along the River Ness.
Levelling Up Michael Gove also commented:
“Levelling up means delivering local people’s priorities and bringing transformational change in communities that have, for too long, been overlooked and undervalued. Today we are backing 55 projects across the UK with £1 billion to create new jobs and opportunities, power economic growth, and revitalise local areas. This funding sits alongside our wider initiatives to spread growth, through devolving more money and power out of Westminster to towns and cities, putting in place bespoke interventions to places that need it most, and our long-term plan for towns.”
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