Michelin site plans laid out in wider Budget papers talk of ‘key location’

The Scottish Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the Tay Cities Deal, saying it expected to fully sign off on the investment package in the coming financial year.

A heads of terms agreement was signed in Perth last month, with Holyrood and Westminster collectively pledging £300m for the deal, in the expectation of leveraging in hundreds of millions more in private sector investment.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said he anticipated reaching full closure on the Tay Cities and Stirling and Clackmannanshire deals in the coming months.

Tay Cities will move to financial closure following a further round of scrutiny of the business cases of nominated projects, which include a proposed international barley hub at James Hutton Institute at Invergowrie and £10m to transform Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

The redevelopment of Michelin’s Dundee closure-threatened site was also flagged as a priority under Scottish Government sustainable economy initiatives.

The French giant sent shockwaves through the Scottish economy last month when it confirmed it would end production at the Baldovie site in 2020 with the potential loss of 845 jobs.

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has led on the Michelin response for the government but the situation was not explicitly mentioned in his speech.

However, reference was made within the wider Budget papers to developing the “next stage of Michelin’s presence in Scotland”.

“We will work together to transform their Dundee site into a key location for new economic and employment opportunities in manufacturing, remanufacturing, recycling and low carbon transport,” the papers state.