Last month Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council assumed the role of Chair of the Ayrshire Joint Economic Committee – the regional decision-making body governing the Ayrshire Growth Deal and the Regional Economic Strategy.
In this piece he shares his thoughts and hopes for the Growth Deal over the coming months.
“It’s a real honour to be taking on this role and to represent the region, our partners and investors and to support all that is happening in Ayrshire from an economic perspective.
“In Ayrshire we have well-established partnership working arrangements with our neighbouring authorities in North and South Ayrshire, and the Ayrshire Regional Economic Joint Committee provides the governance for these.
“The Growth Deal has enjoyed some recent successes with pan-Ayrshire projects – as our recently published annual report will testify – particularly with the Community Wealth Building Programme, which has supported over 1150 local businesses and safeguarded over 1000 jobs locally. Such is the success of this programme it is now likely to be used as a national demonstration region for CWB in Scotland.
“The Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund and our Working for a Healthy Economy programme have also both enjoyed significant successes, with businesses and residents reaping the benefits of these investments, which are contributing to the resilience of our local economy.
“Our partners shared commitment and determination has been key to our progress over the last 12 months. Sadly, though, we’ve faced a lot of public criticism for the lack of pace for some of the capital and infrastructure projects of the Ayrshire Growth Deal. But the reality is these multi-million-pound investment projects don’t happen overnight. A tremendous amount of preparatory work and early planning has been taking place behind the scenes to bring these projects to fruition.
“And this year, I’m delighted to say that some of these more complex projects can progress beyond the scoping stage and move to construction. There’s lots happening across the whole region as the infrastructure projects start to gather pace – particularly here in East, which excites me a lot! I always desire the very best for the people, business and communities of East Ayrshire – and this year, this very month in fact, we’ll see spades in the ground at Moorfield in Kilmarnock as the long-awaited Ayrshire Innovation Park gets underway.
“With a total investment of £42.5m Ayrshire Innovation Park will be home to two co-located Ayrshire Growth Deal projects – the Ayrshire Manufacturing Investment Corridor (AMIC) and the Ayrshire Engineering Park (AEP). This development will create job opportunities in engineering and advanced manufacturing, with a particular focus on food manufacturing and production, and it will consolidate Ayrshire’s reputation as an attractive place to work, live and invest in.
“Later this year, we will see CoRE – Community Renewable Energy project – start to make an impact in our communities in the south of the authority. The £24.5m CoRE project presents a unique opportunity to address two of the greatest challenges facing our communities – climate change and regional skills gaps. CoRE will deliver a programme of demonstrator projects in housing, transport and energy to help our communities and businesses to adapt and respond to climate risks and sustainability challenges.
“Residents in Cumnock, Barshare and Rankinston will be the first to benefit as we aim to equip these communities with the skills and qualifications to contribute to the low carbon sector supply chain and to help them make affordable choices to heat and power their homes and to tackle fuel poverty.
“There’s more happening in other parts of Ayrshire too, as the Great Harbour construction continues at Irvine Beach Park. We’re expecting the Coastal Hub Play Park to be completed towards the end of the year, followed by a new skate park and pump track, providing improved outdoor space and facilities for a range of ages and abilities.
“And we look forward to welcoming the first tenant into the new manufacturing premises at i3 flexible space in Irvine. This advanced manufacturing space has recently been marketed and agreement will now be sought from North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet meeting in December, to move forward with the successful bidder. The level of interest for this site provides confidence for the team as they move forward with next phase of the development.
“These are busy times. The next 12 months will possibly be the busiest yet for Ayrshire Growth Deal and I’m delighted to be part of such an ambitious and innovative investment programme.
“Our vision is for Ayrshire to be ‘a vibrant, outward looking, confident region, attractive to investors and visitors, making a major contribution to Scotland’s growth and local well-being, and leading the implementation of digital technologies and the next generation of manufacturing.’
“Looking ahead to 2026, I’m confident that we will achieve this and more for the communities of Ayrshire.”