Highland Council Convener welcomes £100,000 towards City-Region Deal plans

Convener of The Highland Council, Councillor Jimmy Gray has welcomed the UK Government’s budget announcement today (18 March 2015) that it will contribute £100,000 to help with the Council work up proposals for a City-Region Deal for Inverness.

Convener Gray said: “We have been working with the UK and  Scottish Governments, Scottish Futures Trust and the Scottish Cities Alliance to investigate new ways of enabling major infrastructure development in Inverness which would unlock significant economic opportunities for the City and the region, and would also have benefits for the wider economy.

“We welcome the UK Government’s funding announcement and their acknowledgement that we are on the right tracks for a potential City-Region Deal. This funding contribution will help bolster our efforts to identify the potential economic outputs we could achieve from major infrastructure investments in and around the city that would meet the criteria for a City-Region Deal.

“We have outlined some potential projects that could boost the economic growth of the City as well as the Highland region and the wider economy, these include the Longman Interchange, East Link, West Link, City Centre Regeneration (Including Inverness Castle) and Muirtown Regeneration.”  

He added: “A key feature in getting to this stage has been the positive partnership approach between the Council, Scottish and UK Governments and I look forward to this continuing as we work together to achieve this City-Region Deal for Inverness”.