Tay Cities deal will create thousands of jobs in Fife

One of the biggest investments will be the creation of a new St Andrews University campus in Guardbridge.

The Eden Campus will have around £25m of investment to create a science and technology based campus for skills training services and mentoring programmes, access to high speed network for research, and reliable upgraded power and renewable heating supplies, to help create a global research and innovation hub.

To achieve this, £7m will be invested to develop a dedicated power station. More than £13m will be used for research in low-carbon innovation; and £4m will be spent on the creation of the Eden Enterprise Hub, providing space for university start-ups.

Some £40m will also be invested in a new Tay Link road, and £37m spent on supporting a regional culture and tourism investment programme across all the regions.

Councillor Linda Holt expressed disappointment that a proposal for the Levenmouth rail link wasn’t included in the deal.

But Keith Winter, executive director of enterprise and environment, at the Policy and co-ordination committee said: “Rail is still an important priority for Fife. A world class tourism discussion will be taking place and that is when we can consult on what projects will be funded with that money.”

Co-leader of the council David Ross added: “I am concious that once an announcement is made we won’t see immediate action. This is a long term project, but the rail link project is well into the production of a report, which we are expecting at the end of March.

“We will keep pushing to insure that report is positive, which we have every reason to think it will be. Once the money comes forward from the deal, that’s when we can push projects.”

However, Councillor John Beare told the committee that while everyone was hungry to see the rail project move forward, there “needs to be a level of realism”.

He added: “We are at least two years away from any decisions being made, but the drive to reintroduce the link will continue.”