Central Borders Innovation Park gets City Region Deal funding green light

The Central Borders Innovation Park at Tweedbank is set to receive £15 million after its business case was approved by the Joint Committee for the Edinburgh and South East City Region Deal.

The decision ensures funding for the Innovation Park which stimulates business growth and improves inward investment opportunities by delivering high quality business space in the area.

Other funding towards the project has already been committed by Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Enterprise and the Borders Railway Blueprint Group.

Councillor Mark Rowley, Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for business and economic development, said: “The Central Borders Innovation Park will create skilled employment opportunities through the creation of much-needed high quality office and industrial space. This will maximise the potential of the Borders Railway, which strengthens the case for its extension, and will encourage business start-ups, long-term growth and business moves to a location with excellent transport links.

“The funding from the City Region Deal is the final piece of the jigsaw for this project, and with work already underway on the ground, I look forward to the first long term jobs being created soon.”

Funding for the park was committed by the City Region Deal, an agreement between the Scottish Government, UK Government and local governments to support transformative change and deliver inclusive economic growth across the region. The deal will invest £1.3 billion across Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland and contribute to the creation of 21,000 jobs and improve the skills of an estimated 14,700 people.

Infrastructure secretary Michael Matheson said: “Using £300m of Scottish Government investment, the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal is designed to deliver inclusive economic growth, providing opportunities and distributing the benefits fairly across the entire region.

“Continuing our support for the transformational Borders Railway project, the Central Borders Innovation Park at Tweedbank will utilise £15m of investment from the Scottish Government through the deal. It’s great to see the progress that is being made to make the Scottish Borders a more attractive location for businesses to invest and I would like to thank those involved for the work undertaken to get to this position.”

The Central Borders Innovation Park evolved out of the council’s wider Masterplan for Tweedbank to maximise the economic impact of the Borders Railway. It outlined several proposals to encourage people to live, learn, visit and work in the Borders, as well as attract inward investment through public and private sector funding.

Among other businesses cases approved at the Joint Committee meeting included the Industrial Estate Regeneration in Fife and the Edinburgh Futures Institute.