Borderlands Partnership Board Update

Strong progress is being made delivering the £452m Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. At the meeting of the 11th March, the Partnership Board heard about the latest position and made key decisions including:

•       Approving three Borderlands Town Investment Plans for Hawick, Jedburgh and Galashiels. These are important milestones in the Place Programme and set out the proposed projects to be brought forward as individual applications to deliver the ambition set out in the respective Place Plans.

•       Approving £1.8m for the redevelopment of the former Red Lion site in Egremont. This will transform a key unused site on the high street for mixed use as part of the Place Programme.

•        Agreeing to support the Stranraer Marina project £20m request and to make a final approval by written procedure once the final endorsements have been received from Scottish Government and the marine licence has been approved. Although not the final approval this represents a major step forward for the scheme maintaining the momentum from previous approvals.

•        Agreeing the shortlisting of projects within the £7m South of Scotland Skills programme subject to the outcome of final review by Scottish Government. Three projects have been invited to bring forward Outline Business Cases (The Centre for Net Zero, Net Zero Innovation Hub and Human Health Innovation Lab). A fourth project South of Scotland Forestry Skills Partnership continues to be supported however due to the programme being oversubscribed will now be part of wider conversations to identify alternative and additional funding.

  
  

The PMO also shared that £2.7m of funding has been agreed by Investment Panel to projects including £900,000 to the Florence Arts Centre, £570,000 for the Dalton Pocket Park as well as £618,000 towards the Solway Coast and Marine Pilot Project and £620,247 to Kirkconnel Housing Project, these last two subject to completion of critical steps before final award.

We will continue to provide updates on these projects as part of a fuller communications approach working with the individual project leads, UK Government and Scottish Government.