As the deal marks its halfway milestone, the figures are revealed in the 2023/2024 Annual Report published today.

Approaching the end of year five, £152.108m of UK and Scottish Government investment has been received, with an additional £180.259m in leverage funding secured by projects that are part of the TCRD.

The report also shows that 2,451 jobs have been created since the deal was signed, successfully delivering growth and accelerating investment across the area, as it continues to create a fairer, smarter Tay Cities region.

There have been numerous successes over the past five years, from Beyond Visual Line of Sight Drone Trials with NHS Tayside, to initiatives demonstrating and creating funding opportunities for the potential of 5G across the region. And from the first glimpse into what the Angus clean growth business park will look like, to being able to experience Hospitalfield House’s new residential studio, visitor facilities and gardens.

On behalf of the Tay Cities Partnership, chair of the joint committee, Councillor Mark Flynn, leader of Dundee City Council, said: “The impressive figures in the report signal the kind of growth that was intended when the deal was put together five years ago.

“It indicates that partnership working across the public and private sectors does work, thanks to the effort and commitment of all of those involved. Here’s to the next five years!”

Projects to have received Tay Cities Region Deal government funding include:

• Growing the Tay Cities Biomedical Cluster
  (Creating 28 new jobs and 39 construction jobs. Leveraging £40.512m in additional funding)
  Refurbishment of the MedTech facilities at Wilson House was completed this year, allowing high-growth companies to deliver the therapeutics, diagnostics, and healthcare innovations of tomorrow, while also increasing industry partnership. Tay Cities Innovation Hub will officially open in Spring 2025.
• International Barley Hub
  (Creating 39 new and protecting 33 jobs. Leveraging £6.184m in additional funding)
  The International Barley Hub marks a major milestone in establishing Scotland as a leader in global food security and crop resilience. Barley is the most predominant crop grown in Scotland, and supports 40,000 jobs north of the UK border, largely due to its key role in the world-renowned Scottish whisky industry.
• Advanced Plant Growth Centre
  (Creating 63 new and protecting 127 jobs. Leveraging £9.415m in additional funding)
  The Advanced Plant Growth Centre became the heart of plant and crop research and innovation in the Tay Cities region when it opened in July 2024. The centre is home to world-leading plant science, delivering innovative solutions for food and environmental sustainability.
• Eden Campus
  (Creating 69 new, 490 construction and protecting 500 jobs. Leveraging £56.4m in additional funding)
  Creating a Centre of Excellence in Low Carbon and Renewable Energy innovation, the Eden Campus will see academia, industry, community and public services work together in partnership to drive economic growth. The Enterprise Hub, due to open in 2025 will support the start-up and growth of new and emerging companies focused on low carbon innovation.
• Stretch Dome Simulator
  (Creating 7 new jobs. Leveraging £350k in additional funding)
  Completed in 2022, the Stretch Dome Simulator, located with the Eden Campus at the University of St Andrews, gives scientists the ability to test their theories and generate solutions in rapid time. The Simulator is used to test research and innovation into, for example, climate change, costal ecology, underwater acoustics, low carbon and new materials.
• Pitlochry Festival Theatre
  Pitlochry Festival Theatre received a completed its transformation of the inside of its venue in 2024 which attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year. This included a new 172-seat Studio Theatre, upgraded legible and accessible courtyard, and upgraded toilet facilities alongside a new accessible changing room. Refurbishments also included plant upgrades allowing energy units to be switched from gas to air source heat pumps, as well as roof replacement and insulation upgrades, significantly reducing the Theatre’s carbon consumption.  Completion of physical project in 2024.
• Perth Museum
  (Creating 30 new 20 construction jobs. Leveraging £16.821m in additional funding)
  Opened in March 2024, this must-see attraction is a major cultural venue. Home to the Stone of Destiny, the new walkthrough experience saw the museum welcome its first 100,000 visitors by July 2024.
• Rural Angus and Rural Perth & Kinross Highspeed Broadband
  (Creating 250 jobs. Leveraging £3.98m in additional funding)
  Completed in 2022, digital connectivity has been improved throughout rural areas of Angus, and Perth and Kinross. A new infrastructure consisting of fixed radio masts enabled high quality wireless solutions, allowing Superfast Broadband to reach remote and rural residences and businesses. Perth and Kinross re-used and extended existing fibre broadband to connect new rural properties, as well as connecting over one hundred rural sites including, schools, libraries and museums to gigabit capable connectivity.

Signed in 2020, the Tay Cities Region Deal, is a partnership between UK and Scottish governments, along with public and private organisations across Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross, created to promote sustainable and inclusive prosperity for the region.

Working collaboratively to attract over £700m of investment by 2035, the deal is well on its way to transform the region into a place where businesses can continue to grow, develop innovative technologies, enhance productivity, develop skills, and create jobs.