Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Rising costs could impact Tay Cities Deal projects creating thousands of jobs

Soaring construction costs have been highlighted as a major concern by the group leading the Deal.

Tay Cities Deal projects include Hospitalfield in Arbroath and Perth City Hall. Image: Tay Cities Deal.
Tay Cities Deal projects include Hospitalfield in Arbroath and Perth City Hall. Image: Tay Cities Deal.

Rising construction costs are a major concern for the Tay Cities Deal Joint Committee, as it tries to progress projects creating thousands of jobs.

The Deal – signed more than two years ago – has the ambition of creating 6,000 quality jobs.

A total of 26 projects were backed by the deal across Dundee, Perth, Angus and Fife.

The UK and Scottish governments together pledged £300 million. This unlocked a further £400m from business, public sector and educational organisations.

Tay Cities Deal costs warning

However, rising costs are impacting some of the Tay Cities Deal according to Councillor Grant Laing, chair of the Tay Cities Region Joint Committee.

Recently The Courier revealed James Hutton Institute is facing a funding shortfall of more than £10m on its International Barley Hub, which is currently under construction.

The Invergowrie-based institute received £62m from the Tay Cities Deal.

Rising prices mean the International Barley Hub is facing a £10-12m funding shortfall. Image: DC Thomson

While construction of some buildings is complete and work on the key £44m scientific block has begun, construction prices have risen by 25% since funds were approved.

The costs of archaeology works and a new road junction were much higher than originally estimated.

Mr Laing admits soaring construction costs are a “challenge”.

He said: “As we look ahead to the coming year we know that the impact of the increasing costs of services and materials will present the Deal with our biggest challenge to date.

“The Joint Committee closely monitors the effect that this may have on the rate and scale of progress.

Councillor Grant Laing
Councillor Grant Laing. Image: DC Thomson.

“We will continue to emphasise the importance of collaborative working and the benefits of learning from each other to manage these issues at a time when investment in the Tay Cities Region is most needed.”

Tay Cities Deal projects

Despite this, Mr Laing said he is pleased at progress that has been made on the Tay Cities Deal so far.

During 2021-22 several major projects were completed and others moved into the delivery stage.

These included:

St Andrews University’s Eden Campus at Guardbridge.

The University of Dundee has previously announced a new innovation hub, which accessed £25m of Deal funding.

Meanwhile the Perth Cultural Transformation (Perth & Kinross) project is redeveloping Perth City Hall.

Mr Laing adds: “The Tay Cities Region Deal continues to demonstrate what we can achieve when we work together towards our shared vision to empower and promote inclusion through the region’s people, places, businesses and communities.

“The progress we have made in 2022/23 is a testament to the commitment of all partners working in challenging circumstances.”

Conversation