Ministers of the UK and Scottish Governments and representatives of the five councils of the Borderlands Partnership signed the deal, which aims to drive inclusive growth and deliver significant and lasting benefits for individuals, businesses and communities, including the creation of up to 5,500 jobs.

The Scottish Borders investment will include:

• £19m for an ambitious project to create the world’s first Mountain Bike Innovation Centre, integrated adventure Bike Park and Trail Lab in Innerleithen (further details below).
• £11m Destination Tweed tourism project based around the River Tweed.
• Funding to further develop the 7Stanes mountain biking network across the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.
• A share of £20m for town and community improvement projects through a Place Programme in the south of Scotland.
• Funding for improved business infrastructure in Hawick and Coldstream.
• Funds to support rural innovation and skills.
• Projects to tackle gaps in digital and mobile infrastructure.
• £10m to deliver the feasibility activity around extending the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Carlisle.
• Funding to support the generation of low carbon energy.
• Pilot projects covering woodland, upland and agricultural areas to trial new approaches to valuing and protecting our natural capital to capture the benefits of our environment in a sustainable way.

Councillor Mark Rowley, Scottish Borders Council’s executive member for economic regeneration and finance, said: “The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal has been worked on by the various partners for a number of years and this level of investment and joined up partnership working has never been more important than it is today, as we look towards our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This deal can transform the Scottish Borders, allowing multiple, large scale projects to be taken forward by the Council and a wide range of partners, delivering new jobs and sustainable growth which will help support the region for decades to come.

“Significant investment into our towns and communities, our tourism infrastructure and our environment means that this deal will see the benefits shared right across the whole of the Scottish Borders.”

A key element of the Borderlands Growth Deal for the Scottish Borders is the development of a new mountain bike innovation centre in Innerleithen that will support Scottish, UK and international businesses to develop innovative products and services within mountain biking and across the cycling sector.

In addition, a Tweed Valley Bike Park and Trail Lab will be created in what is thought to be a global first in terms of combining tourism and innovation. An adventure bike park will deliver infrastructure to attract and sustainably manage visitors to the Scottish Borders.

Borderlands Growth Deal will invest £19m in the project, which is predicted to contribute £141m in Gross Value Added (GVA) and over 400 new jobs in the South of Scotland.

The project partnership includes South of Scotland Enterprise as project sponsors Scottish Borders Council, Edinburgh Napier University and Scottish Cycling, through Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS).