Scottish towns and cities awarded funding from Levelling Up Fund

Six projects in Scotland have been awarded grants from round three of the Levelling Up Fund.

Almost £122 million has been awarded to projects in Moray, North and South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish borders to upgrade town centres, high streets and local transport.

£1 billion has been awarded to 55 projects around the UK in round three.

£22.8 million will renovate historic buildings in Annan and Peebles and improve cycling and walking routes along the Clydesdale Way; £22.8 million will renovate historic buildings in Annan and Peebles and improve cycling and walking routes along the Clydesdale Way; and £18.2 million will transform the town centre of Elgin into an attractive urban hub where high-productivity businesses can thrive.

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove said: “Levelling up means delivering local people’s priorities and bringing transformational change in communities that have, for too long, been overlooked and undervalued. Today we are backing 55 projects across the UK with £1 billion to create new jobs and opportunities, power economic growth, and revitalise local areas. This funding sits alongside our wider initiatives to spread growth, through devolving more money and power out of Westminster to towns and cities, putting in place bespoke interventions to places that need it most, and our long-term plan for towns.”

Scottish secretary Alister Jack said: “It’s fantastic news that these six locally developed projects in north, central and southern Scotland have been given the go-ahead. Sharing £122 million UK Government funding, they will transform communities through improvements such as better, greener transport infrastructure and connectivity, regeneration of buildings and land and creation of education, business and employment opportunities.

“Our levelling up commitment to communities across Scotland so far stands at almost £2.7 billion. We are focused on working with local partners to deliver the change that the country needs to put the UK on the right path for the future.”

Projects in Scotland that have received funding from previous rounds include construction work to improve sustainability and tourism in Inverness and the restoration of Edinburgh's Granton gasholder.