Years in the making the Growth Deal is driven by the three Ayrshire council's working together to bring the investment our region needs to give our economy a kickstart.
The council said: "When you look at the projects within the Ayrshire Growth Deal you can see that we are positioning Ayrshire to be at the forefront of the changes we are going to see in the economy over the next few decades – specifically the urgent need to address the climate emergency and the rapid advancement in digital technology."
The Growth Deal will provide £53million of public investment in low carbon energy innovation and development. This will include £18million at Hunterston which, as Scotland's largest strategic deep-water port with direct rail and grid connection, is a site that has all the assets needed to contribute to Scotland's transition to a low carbon economy.
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The digital projects within the Growth Deal will make Ayrshire a world-class region for digital connectivity. £11million will be invested for a subsea fibre optic cable that will land in Irvine. We are very fortunate that a national assessment of the best place to land such a cable in Scotland identified Irvine as the best location because these cables make an area very attractive for investment in the digital economy.
Capitalising on the subsea cable, and the fact that the i3 business park is Scotland's Life Science Enterprise Zone, a further £20million of investment at i3 will help deliver a National Digital Processing Hub which will facilitate research and development activity, will attract a range of supply chain companies and digital technology SME's to the area as well as support new digital start-ups. We will also be investing heavily to fulfil the potential of our greatest natural asset – the coast.
There is £10million in the Growth Deal for a new Marine Science and Environmental Centre at Ardrossan. The project will bring industry and academia together to ensure we are recognised as an exemplar in the Blue Economy and marine sustainability sector.
And £14million will be invested in the Great Harbour project at Irvine Harbourside to bring an additional one million visitors to the area each year, with the first phase 'Maritime Mile', with its waterfront event spaces and floating boardwalk, helping to create a national visitor attraction.
There is also a £8.5million Regional Skills and Inclusion Programme as well as a £3million Community Wealth Building Fund, investments that will ensure that the benefits of the deal are shared with the people and communities of Ayrshire.
