By David Scott in Edinburgh
22 March 2010
Finance Secretary John Swinney announced on March 20 that he was giving provisional approval for a £73m investment in the regeneration of Ravenscraig, the site of a former steelworks in North Lanarkshire, to be funded through Tif.
This method of financing will also be used for the £84m upgrade of Edinburgh’s waterfront. This project was provisionally approved in September and has now been formally signed off following agreement between the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Futures Trust, an agency set up by the government to reduce the cost of building significant infrastructure projects such as schools, roads and hospitals, has developed Tif for use in Scotland and has been working with a number of councils to develop pilot schemes.
Swinney said the Ravenscraig project – which will include road upgrades and works that will lead to the creation of a new town centre – had the potential to unlock an additional £425m of private investment and create up to 4,500 new jobs, including 500 in the construction sector.
He added: ‘Massive cuts to the Scottish budget imposed on us by Westminster have underlined the importance of finding new, cost-effective funding models for crucial infrastructure projects such as the Edinburgh waterfront and Ravenscraig regeneration, enabling us to unlock economic development, whilst ensuring maximum value for the public purse.’
Peter Reekie, director of finance of the Scottish Futures Trust, welcomed the announcement and said the investment of more than £150m in the projects would unlock over £1bn of private money in these regeneration areas.
‘Tif is an innovative way to fund growth from growth which will support jobs and economic recovery and bring additional investment at a time of reduction in capital budgets in the public sector,’ he said.
Plans for the use of Tif in England were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool in September.
22 March 2010
Two major development projects in Scotland are to be funded using Tax Increment Financing, which allows councils to borrow against future gains in business rate income.
Finance Secretary John Swinney announced on March 20 that he was giving provisional approval for a £73m investment in the regeneration of Ravenscraig, the site of a former steelworks in North Lanarkshire, to be funded through Tif.
This method of financing will also be used for the £84m upgrade of Edinburgh’s waterfront. This project was provisionally approved in September and has now been formally signed off following agreement between the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Futures Trust, an agency set up by the government to reduce the cost of building significant infrastructure projects such as schools, roads and hospitals, has developed Tif for use in Scotland and has been working with a number of councils to develop pilot schemes.
Swinney said the Ravenscraig project – which will include road upgrades and works that will lead to the creation of a new town centre – had the potential to unlock an additional £425m of private investment and create up to 4,500 new jobs, including 500 in the construction sector.
He added: ‘Massive cuts to the Scottish budget imposed on us by Westminster have underlined the importance of finding new, cost-effective funding models for crucial infrastructure projects such as the Edinburgh waterfront and Ravenscraig regeneration, enabling us to unlock economic development, whilst ensuring maximum value for the public purse.’
Peter Reekie, director of finance of the Scottish Futures Trust, welcomed the announcement and said the investment of more than £150m in the projects would unlock over £1bn of private money in these regeneration areas.
‘Tif is an innovative way to fund growth from growth which will support jobs and economic recovery and bring additional investment at a time of reduction in capital budgets in the public sector,’ he said.
Plans for the use of Tif in England were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool in September.
