The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Jobs revolution would see 15,000 new posts £2 billion plans could transform industry across Tayside
Ambitious plans to instigate a jobs revolution in Tayside and Fife by securing nearly £2 billion of government investment have been revealed.
The long-awaited Tay Cities Deal submission document is seeking UK and Scottish Government funding for a series of projects that would transform infrastructure and industry across Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross and north-east Fife.
The 96-page document outlines 56 separate projects that could create 15,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.
From developing new industries to making it easier for job seekers to travel to work, it aims to find ways to transform the Tayside economy.
Among the major projects outlined in the document are Dundeecom, a private-public partnership to create the UK’s largest centre for oil and gas decommissioning work over three sites: Montrose, Dundee and Methil.
This could create up to 7,700 new fulltime jobs.
There are also proposals to develop tourism in the city by building the UK’s first permanent comics museum and to turn it into a cyber-security powerhouse.
The submission also includes bids to create an International Aviation Academy at Dundee airport and improve its current radar facilities, which could lead to a return of international flights.
The four councils will discuss the submissions this month and it will then be submitted to the UK and Scottish governments, along with the businesses cases of each of the proposals
It is hoped they will have decided what funding they will approve by the end of summer.
The total cost of the proposed investment is £1.8 billion, of which £826 million (45%) over the first 10 years is being sought from the Scottish and UK governments and their agencies.
Dundee’s executive director of city planning, Mike Galloway, said the submission is just the first step in securing the money for Tayside.
“We’ve got to go through the detail and that’s about getting down to the nitty-gritty,” he said.
“If you think back 20 or 30 years and remember what Dundee was like, Dundee has come a long way and can make a quantum leap forward again.”
David Littlejohn, who is heading up the Tay Cities Deal, said creating more jobs is fundamental to the submission.
“This region has huge opportunities and we can all see the potential it has,” he said.
“It is fundamentally about getting more people into work and up-skilling in work to take advantage of the opportunities Dundee has.”
Initiatives to get people back into work including extending a free travel scheme for job seekers throughout Tayside.
The deal is also seeking powers to create a unified transport strategy across the Tay Cities area.