THE leader of Inverclyde Council has welcomed a new £64.5 million fund to boost commercial and industrial premises across the Glasgow City Region.

Councillor Robert Moran says the funding is particularly crucial for areas like Inverclyde to help reverse decades of industrial decline.

The Glasgow City Region Cabinet gave the green light to a new £64.5 million City Deal project which will provide funding for all eight of the regions’ councils, including Inverclyde, to refurbish existing or to create new commercial or industrial premises.

The region’s £1.13 billion City Deal is funded by the UK and Scottish governments.

The new project is designed to tackle a key problem identified within the region’s economic strategy around a lack of available modern, high-quality commercial and industrial premises – due to the declining availability of stock and a lack of investment into new or existing spaces.

Councillor Moran said: “In Inverclyde especially, we have a real shortage of suitable commercial and industrial space that employers are looking for and this is also something that has been raised through the Inverclyde Socio-Economic Taskforce.

“We have suffered from decades of industrial decline and we have long been calling for greater financial support to allow us to modernise existing premises and look at developing new sites so this new City Deal investment is very welcome.

“Inverclyde is an area with so much untapped potential and there is so much we could do but we need that extra support from both governments and this additional funding is a positive first step in helping Inverclyde reach its full potential.”

The £64.5m project aims to contribute to addressing some key economic issues faced by the region which impact on local businesses, employers, investment into the region and the public sector.

It is also in response to research which found that there is not sufficient commercial and industrial premises available across the City Region to meet demand.

Each of the councils in the region are now in the early stages of developing potential projects within the programme.

Susan Aitken, Chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet and Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “This is a really significant investment that will increase the amount of modern, high quality commercial and industrial properties available across the city region.

“It’s vital that we address the shortage of suitable accommodation which both local businesses and inward investors tell us they often face if we’re to deliver on our economic potential.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how this project will contribute to growth across the city region and help create jobs in our communities.”

In terms of the projects which are being considered for the funding, each council has submitted a longlist of potential locations.

With Cabinet approval granted, the last of the current City Deal business cases to be considered by Cabinet, the longlist of projects will now be further assessed.

And in the coming months the councils will progress towards a final shortlist of projects, with a business case developed for each to evidence the funding requirement for inclusion in the final programme.

It is anticipated that the new funding will support a mixture of new build construction; refurbishment of existing buildings to improve the quality, energy efficiency and lifespan of existing premises; and enabling activity such as investment in infrastructure or sites to allow the private sector to build a commercial floorspace project through follow on investment.

A research report commissioned by Glasgow City Region last year, evidences the scale of the challenge in ensuring there is sufficient commercial and industrial premises to meet the need of local businesses and businesses investing into the Region.

It recognised that the problem is due to a wide range of factors, all of which are affecting the wider UK, including not enough new floorspace being built by the private sector; available quality space in the Region at a historically low level and exacerbated by a growing amount of out-of-date property – with local SMEs and inward investors struggling to find suitable accommodation to grow and expand within the Region.

The demand for modern, high-quality commercial and industrial spaces for existing and new business to move into is not being met. In some instances, the cost of developing new commercial space is not a viable commercial proposition for the private sector and may require public sector stimulus.

The new Enabling Commercial Space Programme seeks to contribute towards addressing this market failure.

Funding from the new City Deal project will address market failure in areas the Region where there are barriers in the development of new or refurbished commercial and industrial floorspace.

It will open up areas of industrial land capable of immediate development, attract private sector investment, create more flexible business space for a broad range of sectors, bringing sites on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register back into use and importantly create sustainable, high-quality business locations to support SMEs, supply chain businesses and start-ups.

For more information about the funding and Glasgow City Region projects, visit glasgowcityregion.co.uk