According to its new Annual Report, the achievement brings the total value of projects delivered so far to £545m.

hub South West, which brings public sector bodies in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway together with private sector development partners, was able to report a forward pipeline of new business currently standing at £289m.

Its strategic partnership building programme also bore substantial fruit over the course of the year, helping to create a portfolio which now includes education, healthcare, early years provision, leisure, office space and, most recently, housing.

hub South West chair Dr Willie Mackie, who succeeded John McClelland, CBE, in the middle of 2020, paid tribute in the Report to the way the team negotiated its way through the Covid crisis.

He said: “They rose to meet an unprecedented challenge, showing commitment and resilience, not only adding economic value but enhancing people’s lives within our communities.”

Michael McBrearty, chief executive of hub South West, who has since announced that he is standing down from the position but will remain a board member, said: “This was the ninth year since hub South West was established and, in terms of the trading and operating conditions, it has undoubtedly been one of the toughest challenges we have ever faced.

“However, the pandemic has demonstrated the strength of our partnerships and the commitment of our supply chain. Using imagination and creative thinking, we have maintained business as usual and executed contracts for complex multi-million-pound projects.

“The hub model has never been so relevant in offering stability, confidence in deliverability and a true focus on ensuring that public investment has a far-reaching social value.”

The Report shows that hub South West currently has £174m worth of projects in construction, and since inception, has awarded work packages worth £249m to companies within the territory and has created 580 jobs.

The Report also outlines hub South West’s plans to prioritise net zero carbon in the development of economic growth in all new community infrastructure projects.

Moving into the next reporting year, hub South West has committed to nurturing its already effective Economic and Business Development programmes through its ever growing network of SMEs, suppliers and consultancies as well as by implementing the Social Value Portal in partnership with its principal shareholder, the Scottish Futures Trust, across all projects.