Approval set for first of West’s £1bn City Deal projects

An initial £12 million of the £1 billion scheme will be invested across the Glasgow metropolitan area as part of the City Deal scheme.

Last year both the UK and Scottish governments announced that they will give the Glasgow and Clyde Valley local authorities £500m each for the project, while the local authorities will borrow £130m for capital investment.

The City Deal is aiming to produce tens of thousands of jobs in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley over the coming decades through 20 major infrastructure projects, growing key sectors such as life sciences and addressing challenges in the region’s labour market.

The City Deal cabinet, made up of eight councils in the west of the country, is expected to approve the first of those projects today, with work set to get under way within the month.

Among the projects is a new slip road off the M77, with the area set to see 1,000 houses built over the coming years and become one of the major growth areas in East Renfrewshire.

The business cases approved also include work on improvements in Glasgow city centre, boosting the area around Glasgow Airport as a business destination and other major infrastructure schemes.

East Renfrewshire also said the funding would support a new water sports facility at its Dams to Darnley Country Park, which has been developed along its border with Glasgow across the last decade.

Plans include a Wave Park Centre offering wakeboarding, facilities for open water swimming, triathlon events and canoeing, with a scheduled opening set for 2017.

Gordon Matheson, chairman of the Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Deal cabinet, said: “The decision by the cabinet to approve these business cases signals the first stage in delivering projects that will transform the Clyde Valley’s economy. These exciting City Deal schemes will greatly improve our infrastructure, making the area even more attractive to investors and developers and will bring thousands of jobs.”

Longer terms plans for Glasgow via the City Deal include developing a cultural and creative hub at Spiers Lock and Port Dundas, improvements around the inner east end, a new bridge connecting Govan and Partick and a pedestrian cycle route.