The Scottish government has announced funding of £25 million to support regeneration projects in disadvantaged and rural communities.

The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund will support 22 locally developed place-based projects that tackle inequalities and promote sustainable and inclusive economic recovery from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Whilst helping revitalise town centres and neighbourhoods, these projects aim to support up to 3,000 jobs, training and volunteering opportunities and reduce local carbon emissions.

Projects to benefit from a share of this fund include:

• initiatives that transform historic buildings into new shared business spaces, including work to turn a disused historic building in Renfrewshire into the country's first theatre designed for young people

• a new £4 million technology hub in Shawfield, Glasgow, that will provide low carbon space for engineering development, medical, and digital research industries

• a new £2.3 million Skills and Innovation Centre in Kelloholm, Dumfries and Galloway, that will create community project space and offices for third sector and small businesses

• funding of £2 million to unlock investment worth £14.6 million to create a new hub in Edinburgh that will provide a nursery, library, workshops for new businesses, an expanded cafe plus six affordable homes and a revamped community arts centre


• a new £750,000 centre in South Uist to promote Gaelic language, culture, music and dance

Community Wealth Minister Tom Arthur said: "The last few years have been tough for us all but many of Scotland's communities have been more impacted than others. The latest projects to benefit from the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund are working to tackle inequalities and create vibrant town centres and neighbourhoods.

"By securing investment from this £25 million fund, these innovative projects demonstrate the powerful role those in our communities can have in helping to transform their town centres and neighbourhoods by investing in their future. The Scottish Government will do all it can to support projects that help create the fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland we all want to see."

COSLA's Environment and Economy spokesperson Councillor Steven Heddle said: "Once again, the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund has created the opportunity to deliver jobs, tackle inequalities and create better places across Scotland.

"The exciting projects announced today showcase the best of partnership between local authorities and our communities, delivering economic and social renewal as we rebuild from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The diversity of projects supported is testament to the success of identifying local solutions to enable people to live well locally.

"In the face of the climate emergency, it is essential that the most vulnerable in society are not further disadvantage by climate change and I am especially pleased to see the additional focus on achieving a just transition to a net zero society."

Matt Lammie, Chair of Kirkconnel & Kelloholm Development Trust, said: "This grant support for the new Kelloholm Skills and Innovation Centre is fantastic news and a great boost to the community of Kirkconnel and Kelloholm, in what has been a difficult year. Our whole community has worked hard to bring the Skills & Innovation Centre project forward and it will make a real difference to regenerating our area, connecting us to the wider world, and most important of all it will help our young people to get the skills that the need so that they can live, work and prosper here where they were brought up rather than having to move away."