Drone port highlighted as key achievement

The venture was granted an investment of £1m capital funding last March from the UK Government’s £26.5 million Angus Fund, as part of the Tay Cities Regional Deal.

The report, for October 2022 - September 2023, highlights progress over the year and celebrates a further successful 12 months in delivering growth and accelerating investment across the entire region.

UK and Scottish Governments along with the Partnership, have approved £231 million of Government investment from the full £300 million Deal. This equates to over two thirds of the overall Deal funding. Furthermore, a leverage of £145.8 million of additional investment for projects within the Deal has been secured, as well as over 1400 jobs being created since the Deal was signed.

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 to promote sustainable and inclusive prosperity for the region.

Working collaboratively to attract over £700 millon of investment by 2035, the Deal aims to transform the region into a place where businesses can continue to grow, develop innovative technologies, enhance productivity, develop skills and create jobs.

Former Joint Committee chairman, Councillor Grant Laing, Leader of Perth & Kinross Council, said: “The progress over the past 12 months has been phenomenal, with new jobs and investment flourishing across Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross.

"It is testament to all those involved and demonstrates that by working together with outstanding focus and drive, you can create new opportunities and growth at a time of unprecedented need.

“The challenging economic situation that we currently face makes the success for the Tay Cities Region Deal more important than ever before, and we will continue to strive towards creating a fairer, smarter Tay Cities Region.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland, John Lamont, said: “The Tay Cities Region Deal has achieved remarkable milestones in the past year. We are now seeing the benefits the projects bring to the region through breakthroughs in innovation, the opening of new research institutes, and developments in infrastructure.

“The UK Government’s £150 million investment continues to support the deal to deliver sustainable economic growth to the region, as part of more than £3 billion to level up across Scotland.”

Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy Secretary for Scottish Government, Màiri McAllan, added: “The Scottish Government is contributing £150 million towards the Tay Cities Region Deal to support economic development and this report highlights some of the remarkable progress that has been achieved since 2020.

“The regional partners have overseen innovation projects at the James Hutton Institute and the universities of Dundee, St Andrews and Abertay, investment in culture at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Hospitalfield House in Arbroath and initiatives demonstrating the potential for 5G across the region. These sit alongside our commitment to a skills programme to complement the capital works.

“Delivering more than 1,400 jobs and over £145 million investment is a great achievement and I look forward to seeing what else we can achieve in years to come.”