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Council welcomes creation of new Scottish Cities Alliance

Aberdeen City Council has welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement of a £5 million investment fund and the creation of Scottish Cities Alliance to accelerate the pace of investment in Scotland’s cities.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy announced the Cities Investment Fund at a meeting in Edinburgh today (16 December) which will see cities, including Aberdeen, working together to offer large economies of scale to potential investors.

The Cities Investment Fund is designed to accelerate the pace of investment in Aberdeen by:

• Developing programmes which lever in other funding - either private finance or European funding

• Supporting collaborative programmes between cities which will develop large-scale projects

• Developing programmes which allow for wider city region investment

Supported by the Cities Investment Fund, the new Scottish Cities Alliance will see Aberdeen City Council team up in a new economic partnership with other city councils to attract investment, create jobs and help Scotland's cities compete more successfully on the international stage.

The Alliance, facilitated by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), has been tasked with developing growth initiatives focused on connectivity, sustainability, knowledge and culture, and will draw on the expertise of the public, private and academic sectors.

Council leader Callum McCaig, who attended today’s Cosla meeting where Ms Sturgeon made the announcement, said: “The ‘Agenda for Cities’ is an excellent opportunity for Aberdeen and our counterparts across the country.

“For years Aberdeen has been open for business, rightly recognised as the energy capital of Europe, a global centre of excellence for subsea and renowned for its technology and skills across the oil and gas industry.

“This new investment will help build on that success as we try to benefit from new investment to make our city more attractive to the world.

“We look forward to working closely with our counterparts across Scotland and the SCDI to deliver new and innovative investment proposals to increase our potential for future economic growth.”

The cities involved are Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling and their regions.

The local authorities involved are Aberdeen City Council, Dundee City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Highland Council and Stirling Council.

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