A £324 MILLION initiative which will create around 13,000 jobs and help transform an area of Scotland hit by the decline of manufacturing is expected to be announced on the anniversary of Robert Burns’s birth this week.
The Ayrshire Growth Deal is poised to be officially signed off on Friday after two years of talks involving a number of public bodies including the Scottish and UK governments and the three local authorities in the area. It is estimated it will boost a range of developments in the area and lead to £2 billion of additional private-sector investment over the next 15 years.
The deal is a significant boost for Ayrshire which has received a series of economic setbacks in recent months, including the announcement earlier this month that the department store Hourstons, in Ayr, would close after more than 100 years. The shop is to shut on February 7 with the loss of 81 jobs.
Ayrshire was also hit last year when two major public sector funded job creating projects it was hoping for went elsewhere. In June, Irvine was rejected as host of a new Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) with rival bidder Inchinnan near Glasgow Airport getting the prize. And the month, before Dundee and Glasgow were chosen by the Scottish Government as bases for a new Social Security Agency creating 750 jobs at each location.
Some of the £324m from the growth deal will help boost traditional areas of the economy such as seaside tourism in towns such as Irvine, Largs and Prestwick, while some will go to new ventures such as the planned spaceport at Prestwick Airport. Renewable energy generating and storage schemes are also among developments which could benefit. The deal will also see resources directed to upgrade roads and other infrastructure.
A new International Marine Science and Environmental Centre (ISME) is planned for Ardrossan and includes the development of a West of Scotland Centre for Marine Leisure where people training or working in the sector can learn new skills.
Patricia Gibson, the SNP MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, has, along with fellow Ayrshire MPs Philippa Whitford and Alan Brown, been pushing for the deal with UK ministers. Gibson, who led a debate in the Commons two years ago calling for progress on the initiative, said: “The agreement for the Ayrshire Growth Deal is now in place and it is expected to be signed off on January 25.
“I am excited at the economic opportunities this £324m investment – half from the Scottish Government and half from the UK Government – will deliver for Ayrshire. It is expected to attract £2bn of private investment and create an estimated 13,000 jobs in the course of its 15-year programme of inclusive growth.”
Gibson was among the politicians who discussed its final terms with Scottish Secretary David Mundell in London last week.
Senior councillors from North, South and East Ayrshire were also at the meeting. Mundell paid tribute to the work of the local authorities, Ayrshire MPs, who also include the Conservative Bill Grant, as well as the Scottish Government.
The Ayrshire Growth Deal is the sixth north of the Border following the Tay Cities deal, as well as deals for Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh and the south-east region.
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