Falkirk Growth Deal: A step forward in £90m initiative to bring over 1750 jobs

Members of Falkirk Council’s executive agreed to submit the final document to the Scottish and UK governments, laying out how the council will work with partners to deliver ten major projects over the next ten years.

Funded projects include the new Falkirk Town Hall, the creation of Scotland’s Canal Centre at Lock 16, a new art park for the area and an upgraded rail and transport hub at Falkirk Grahamston, along with a Green cycle and pedestrian network.

There will also be a skills transition centre at Forth Valley College to teach the skills needed for moving to Net Zero, the transformation of unused land into sites ready to support industrial growth, a new sustainable manufacturing campus to support modern biotechnology and advanced uses for carbon dioxide.

A transport, renewables and career exploration hub will be established in partnership with Forth Ports, and a Greener Grangemouth project will use £12 million to help the local community benefit from the transition to Net Zero.

The document will now be submitted to the UK and Scottish Governments, in anticipation that all parties will sign the final agreement by the end of June.

That would allow projects to get underway and start to release £80 million worth of government capital funding needed to deliver the deal together with £12 million revenue funding for Greener Grangemouth.

It is hoped that the first projects will get underway in July 2024.

The leader of Falkirk Council, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said: “It’s good to have the final document that will support the heads of terms agreed in December 2021 for the Falkirk Growth Deal.

“I want to thank everybody involved in pulling together, not just the document before us but all the work that’s gone on developing the projects and the business cases.

“It’s not been without its challenges but today is a milestone in submitting the final proposals to Scottish and UK Governments.”

The Growth Deal document notes that over the programme lifetime and a further 10 years to capture the benefits, it is estimated that the Falkirk Growth Deal will deliver:

• £628 million in economic benefit to Falkirk.• 357 direct jobs.• 1395 construction jobs.• more visitors to the area.• improved connections.• new investment across the area.• benefits to Falkirk’s citizens, both now and in the future.