Highland welcomes cities' growth plan

16th December 2011

The Highland Council has welcomed the creation of a £5 million Cities Investment Fund to support a Scottish Cities Alliance.

Senior council representatives were present in Edinburgh when Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that initiative, which will see leaders of Scotland's local authorities team up in a new economic partnership to attract investment, create jobs and help Scotland's cities compete more successfully on the international stage.

The Cities Investment Fund is designed to accelerate the pace of investment in cities by:

Developing programmes which lever in other funding - either private finance or European funding
Supporting collaborative programmes between cities which will develop large-scale projects
Developing programmes which allow for wider city region investment

Ms Sturgeon said: "The Agenda for Cities will help create the momentum required to make sure that our cities and their regions are able to make the fullest possible contribution to sustained economic recovery - stimulating economic activity and job creation. We want to see cities working together, building on their combined strengths to develop strong investment propositions at a scale which will be attractive to potential investors.

"We have high expectations that the Cities Alliance, with the city leaders in the driving seat, will develop collaborative projects to attract private sector investment and accelerate the pace of investment into our cities."

The Highland Council Leader Michael Foxley said: ""The Highland Council has been pleased to be part of the development of the new cities strategy. We recognise the importance of the positive relationship between the city of Inverness and the wider Highlands and welcome the recognition of the role of city regions in creating a successful Scotland. In particular we support the importance given to improving digital and physical connectivity between Inverness and Scotland's other cities.

Provost Jimmy Gray, Chairman of the Council's Inverness City Committee, added: "The Cities Strategy gives the opportunity to look at important projects for Inverness, such as improving the city centre and developing the new university campus at Beechwood. Our aim is to turn Inverness into a university city over the next decade. Through major events like Rock Ness and the Scottish Golf Open, Inverness and the Highlands are emerging as exciting places for local people and tourists."

The Agenda for Cities outlines the focus of collaborative action which has been developed jointly with the Cities. This includes activities directed at developing better connected cities, more sustainable cities, knowledge cities and vibrant and cultural cities. These are seen as the key characteristics of globally successful cities and will help support increased levels of investment, job creation and business.

Early indicative priorities have been set out in the Agenda for Cities and include:

Connectivity
Improving rail and air connectivity to key national and international markets
Delivering world class digital connectivity, capacity and usage across the cities and their regions and improved mobile coverage along our main transport links
Sustainability

The transition to a low carbon economy offers an excellent opportunity to place Scotland in an advantageous position in the global economy and to secure new jobs and investment.

Potential collaborative propositions include opportunities to deliver combined heat and power energy systems and district heating networks across the cities

Exploiting competitive advantage in renewable energy, by identifying and developing complementary city region assets and strengths, including links to the cities' collective academic research expertise. Maximising the economic impact of further and higher education institutions as drivers of city economies.

Ensuring closer working between the cities and national agencies to market the cities and their regions as appealing places to live, visit, study and invest. Adopting a Scotland-wide approach to major events, including the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, to ensure maximum impact across the city regions

The Infrastructure Investment Plan can be viewed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/12/05141922/0

The cities involved are Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling and their regions. The local authorities involved are Aberdeen City Council, Dundee City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Highland Council and Stirling Council.