Members of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet agreed to a round of cash injections which takes the total released to date from the £1.13bn programme to £112m.
The money will be used to take projects forward which will regenerate land for housing, create thousands of jobs and support the development of stalled housing, industrial and business sites across the region.
More than £31m was released by the Cabinet:
- £10.7 million for Canal and North, including Sighthill, to support remediation work on land that will be used for new housing near the city centre.
- £2.95m for development of a business case for a £21million investment in Hamilton which should see 1,800 new homes built and thousands of jobs created as new communities are formed.
- £639,600 for Gartcosh Link Road project in North Lanarkshire. This project will unlock hundreds of millions of pounds for the economy by facilitating delivery of up to 3300 new homes, generating £250m in private sector housing investment, creating 1400 construction job, and guaranteeing more efficient and better-connected transport.
Councillors also heard that a number of influential business experts had agreed to join the Regional Economic Leadership Board, which will be chaired by Lord Haughey and is being created to assist the Cabinet by dealing with the co-ordination and maximisation of wider economic development activity related to the City Deal.
The new members of the Regional Economic Leadership board are:
- Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
- Gerry McCarthy, Managing Director, Texas Instruments
- Marie Macklin, Macklin Enterprises Partnerships Ltd
- Peter Beagley, Regional Centre Director, Intu Properties PLC
- Douglas Smith, Chairman Scotland, CBRE Ltd
- Silka Patel, Marketing Manager, Digital Transformation, Cisco
- Alison Rose, Chief Executive, Royal Bank of Scotland’s Corporate, Commercial & Private Banking business
Meetings are now being set up to review the board’s remit and to consider the work that is being done to develop a new Regional Economic Strategy.
Councillor Frank McAveety, chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet, said: “Our City Deal is one of the biggest of its kind in the UK and offers huge opportunities and benefits for the people who live and work in the area.
“We’re seeing projects take shape and the latest round of business cases approved today means we’ve now released more than £100m from the City Deal pot. I’m also looking forward to working with the influential and high-calibre business leaders that Lord Haughey has brought to our Regional Economic Leadership board.
“We’re making real progress and we’re well on the road to realising the benefits that our City Deal will bring in terms of new jobs, improved infrastructure and more investment in the region.” Lord Haughey said: “The City Deal has huge potential to drive economic growth and job creation. “To help realise that ambition, we have put together a very accomplished group that will not only provide valuable economic leadership; but will be strong advocates for Glasgow and the wider region.
“They have the right skills, experience and motivation to make a really positive contribution. I’m proud to be working with them.”
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