New £55M Programme to Support Community-led Regeneration Projects

On Thursday 28 January 20201, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes presented the Scottish Budget 2021-22 to Parliament. New measures which may be of interest to Culture Counts members are;

  • Doubling the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, helping tourist attractions and local communities make improvements to cope with increased visitors

  • An additional £27 million to expand woodland creation and the associated infrastructure, supporting green jobs

  • A new £55 million programme to support town centres and community-led regeneration projects

Quotes from the relevant sections of The Scottish Budget 2021-22 document below.

Rural Tourism

”Recognising the acute impact seen by our rural communities, we will double the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, to £6.2 million, helping tourist attractions and their communities make improvements to cope with increased visitors, such as parking areas, visitor facilities and recycling points. This will support the resumption of domestic tourism when the time is right.” (PAGE 22)

Woodland Creation

”This sits alongside total funding in the 2021‑22 Budget for Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry of £121.2 million – an increase of £26.9 million on the previous year.” (PAGE 21)

Regeneration Projects

”…we will establish a new Place Based Investment Programme which will be backed with initial investment of £55 million in 2021‑22. This is included in an overall commitment to invest over £275 million over the next five years in support of community‑led regeneration, town centres, and 20 minute neighbourhoods ambitions, as well as our ongoing sponsorship of the Clyde Gateway.” (PAGE 37)

Read More

Culture Counts will post more on our website as we capture updates about these measures. The Scottish Budget 2021-22 document is available online. Full details of the budget are available at www.gov.scot/budget

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