BREXIT, coronavirus and legal challenges have “slowed” progress on the £315 million Inverness and Highland City Region Deal, a new report says.
The deal, which is backed by £135m Scottish Government funding, £127m Highland Council cash and £53m investment from the Westminster government, was signed in Invergordon in 2017.
The 10-year initiative involves a number of projects including redeveloping Inverness Castle to increase tourism, boosting affordable housing availability, improving roads in the area and upgrading digital connectivity.
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While the latest report on the project says there has been “tremendous resilience in a challenging year”, it was warned that issues like the UK leaving the EU and the pandemic have slowed delivery and spending.
Reflecting on the last year, council chief Margaret Davidson said: "The start of this period was marked by truly exceptional and challenging events, which affected everyone globally and our own Highland region did not escape the impact.
"The pandemic and latterly Brexit have been seismic events, which have affected both our lives and the deal."
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One of the areas which has faced most difficulties in the last year has been digital connectivity, the report said. While a new BT contract is in place to bring superfast broadband to the region, a legal issue has caused a “period of delay”.
However the report stated that the council is continuing to work closely with the Holyrood and Westminster governments, as well as Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to improve digital access.
Davidson added that despite everything, projects are being adapted to suit a “changing environment and landscape”.
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