First funding announcement welcomed by Borderlands Partnership
20 Mar 2019 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
The Borderlands Partnership has welcomed the first funding announcement following the confirmation of a £345 million deal from the UK and Scottish Governments.
The multi-million pound deal will mean thousands of new job opportunities, millions of extra tourists to the area, improved digital connectivity and unlocking investment in towns across the region generating a predicted £1.3bn return on the Governments’ investment.
The Borderlands Partnership is a unique collaboration that brings together the five cross-border local authorities - Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council.
The UK Government has confirmed The Alnwick Garden will receive up to £5m to help develop the largest play structure in the world and it is due to open to the public in 2021.
The scheme, called Lillidorei, is set to boost the economy of Alnwick and surrounding area by £68m over ten years.
A Borderlands Partnership spokesperson said: “We’re delighted the UK Government hit the ground running and announced its first funding project just hours after the deal was announced.
“However we don’t have any further confirmation on the content of the Deal or exactly how much money will be committed to each priority area and as such the announcement is not a call for projects.
“This detail will come through Heads of Terms which we will be working towards with the UK and Scottish Government over the coming months. Detailed talks will now continue to establish the exact level of funding allocated to various schemes.”
Peter Jackson, Leader of Northumberland County Council, added: “While the overall funding announcement is fantastic news for the wider region we were particularly pleased that Northumberland received the first funding announcement.
“Alnwick Garden is one of the county’s top tourist attractions and Lillidorei is set to bring a big boost to Northumberland’s economy as well as generating scores of jobs.”
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal has six key programmes: Digital; Borderlands Energy Investment Company; Destination Borderlands; Quality of Place; Knowledge Exchange Network and Business Infrastructure Programme. The Partnership believes that collectively these will deliver benefits across the wider Borderlands geography.
There are also four place-based projects: the redevelopment of Chapelcross former power station; Mountain Bike Innovation Centre; Berwick Theatre and Conference Centre and Carlisle Station Gateway and additional projects such as the Borders Railway extension.
For more information visit the partnership website www.Borderlandsgrowth.com or email info@borderlandsgrowth.com