Funding released for Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Deal projects

Funding has been approved for more than £40 million worth of infrastructure and business development projects under the £1.13 billion City Deal in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area.

Members of the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Cabinet agreed around £3m of investment to kick start developments in Inverkip, Greenock Ocean Terminal and the £21m Cathkin Relief Road.

A total of £346,500 was released for the Cathkin road outline business case, a full business case for which will be considered by the cabinet at a later date.

Approved by South Lanarkshire Council last month, the single-carriageway development will link the Cathkin Bypass with Fernhill Road in a bid to cut down on congestion.

The Inverkip project, which is a partnership between Inverclyde Council and Scottish Power, will deliver infrastructure improvements on the A78 and secure the development of a major 20 Hectare Brownfield site, particularly the former Inverkip Power Station, to create more than 600 houses and 6,000sqm of commercial retail space.

The Greenock Ocean Terminal project will expand the quayside and create a new visitor facility.

The Ocean Terminal, this year alone, has become the first port in Scotland to break the 100,000 cruise liner passenger barrier, and The City Deal project aims to further expand Inverclyde as the cruise ship capital of Scotland.

Approval was also given for funding towards a £5.2m project by Glasgow City Council that was set-up to support growing businesses in the Clyde Valley.

Speaking after his first meeting as chair of the Cabinet, Councillor Frank McAveety said: “Our City Deal is the biggest of its kind in the UK and offers huge opportunities and benefits for the people who live and work in the area.

“The projects we’ve approved today are the latest in a series of initiatives which will transform the Clyde Valley’s economy and create tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

“They’ll improve our infrastructure and make Glasgow and the Clyde Valley even more attractive to the investors and developers who will bring jobs to the area.”

The City Deal, a partnership between eight local authorities as well as the Scottish and UK Governments, will bring tens of thousands of jobs to Glasgow and the Clyde Valley over the next few decades through 20 major projects.

Those authorities are Glasgow City Council, East Dunbartonshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council, Inverclyde Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Renfrewshire Council, South Lanarkshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Council.