Item 7 Glasgow City Region City Deal Update
West Dunbartonshire Council · 23 April 2025
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer (Regeneration and Regulatory) Council: 23 April 2025 Subject: Glasgow City Region City Deal - Update 1. Purpose 1.1 To provide an update on the Exxon Infrastructure Project, and to report on matters being discussed by Glasgow City Region. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Council: i) Notes the update on the Exxon Infrastructure Project; ii) Notes the progress of the Glasgow City Region programme. 3. Background 3.1 The Glasgow City Region City Deal Infrastructure programme equates to £1.13bn of investment during period 2015-2035. Projects are progressing and have reached various stages from Strategic, Outline and Full Business Case stages of approval. 3.2 At the meeting of Council on 30 October 2024, Council heard the factors influencing cost increases for the Exxon Infrastructure Project and approved £0.8m of additional capital costs to deliver the project with a reduced scope while maintaining significant economic benefit. 4. Main Issues 4.1 This report provides information on City Region progress and includes the latest position on Exxon site infrastructure project development. Exxon Infrastructure Project 4.2 Since reporting to Council on 18 December, the main construction contract works commenced as planned on 27 January 2025 and work is progressing well. 4.3 A Change Control Request seeking approval for the variation in project cost and scope was considered and approved by the City Region Cabinet on 25 February 2025. The Inflation Justification Report that explains the reason for increasing inflationary costs for the project has been submitted to City Deal ITEM 7
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Project Management Office for review and consideration. Confirmation of the additional City Deal funding will be provided to a future Council meeting. City Region Update 4.4 A Glasgow City Region Cabinet Meeting was held on 25 February. Items on the agenda included a report on Enabling Commercial Space programme, the Glasgow City Region City Deal Gateway Review 2, an up-date on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for 2025/26, the National Wealth Fund and Glasgow City Region Strategic Partnership and an up-date on the Investment Zone programme. Cabinet also considered and approved Change Control Requests from Glasgow City Council, South Lanarkshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Council. 4.5 The report to Cabinet on Enabling Commercial Spaces (relating to funding for newbuild commercial / industrial units) confirmed that the Business Case would be included as part of the City Deal Programme. The Programme Management Office also confirmed that the Outline Business Case that included all enabling spaces projects, met the requirements of the HM Treasury Green Book, however all legal and financial risks associated with the project remained with the Member Authorities. Cabinet approved the Strategic/Outline Programme Business Case and £4.5m of funding for Member Authorities to use to support the development of their individual project’s Full Business Case. Three expressions of interest were submitted by West Dunbartonshire Council to Glasgow City Region and will now be subject to an appraisal to short-list for the next stage of the business case process. If successful this will deliver new/refurbished commercial / industrial units to a net zero standard and contribute to a more sustainable, resilient and commercial estate. 4.6 The Glasgow City Region City Deal Gateway Review 2 paper highlighted the significant progress in delivery of the programme and outlined the next steps for completion of the process, including the Challenge Session that was scheduled for 5th March 2025. The report highlighted that to support this process the Glasgow City Region Intelligence Hub and Programme Management Office had worked between March and October 2024 to provide the monitoring and evaluation evidence making Glasgow City the only Region to manage that process almost entirely in-house, and in doing so, significant lessons had been learned and capabilities grown within the regional teams. The Independent Evaluation Panel report had highlighted the significant progress made in the delivery of the programme however it is anticipated that there will be a requirement for an increased level of monitoring and evaluation of all City Deal projects. A further report will be brought to Council on the implications of this when information becomes available. 4.7 The Cabinet report on UK Shared Prosperity Fund provided an update on budget implications for the extension year (2025/26) of the Glasgow City Region UK Shared Prosperity Fund, following the confirmation of the budget from the UK Government in October 2024. The Cabinet noted the reduced value of the fund for 2025/26 and a revision to the capital allocation resulting in an opportunity for each Member Authority to each maintain a consistent
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level of capital expenditure. Cabinet agreed the capital allocations and that the planned activity for 2025/26 would be an extension to the current Glasgow City Region UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan model. 4.8 The National Wealth Fund and Glasgow City Region Strategic Partnership report provided an update on the work underway with officials from the National Wealth Fund to create a Strategic Partnership with Glasgow City Region. The report noted that the Glasgow City Region had been chosen as one of four areas across the UK to take part in a new UK Government initiative which connected regions with central government and industry expertise to support them to unlock private investment opportunities and boost local growth. Member Authorities were asked to identify projects which could potentially benefit from the National Wealth Fund products and that tackled climate change while driving regional and local economic growth. The Council submitted four potential projects and await the outcome of on- going discussions. 4.9 The Glasgow City Region Investment Zone update confirmed that following an Expression of Interest process and with over 90 expressions of interest being submitted, the sectors of focus had been identified as Advanced Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Digital Technology. The report presented the proposed short-list of projects, that included the Malin Group’s proposal for a Scottish Marine Technology Park, was approved by Cabinet allowing a process in-depth due diligence of the short-listed projects to get underway. This will consider the proposed interventions, expected outputs and outcomes, together with a full budget profile, over the 10-year period of the Investment Zone, and would also include the completion of the Gateway 4 submission. The Council will continue to work with the Malin Group to advance this regeneration project and will up-date Council on progress. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are several senior officers involved in the Glasgow City Region wider programme as identified at City Region Update paper at Council on 26 August 2021. 6. Financial Implications 6.1 Spend to date for financial year 24/25 was £4.59M. Overall spend to-date is £11.37M 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 There are several project risks associated with the development at the Exxon project site, and these are contained within the project risk register and updated by the Project Board on a regular basis. The Project Board is made up of senior officers from all key services. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment 8.1 Previously completed. No further Assessment is required at this stage.
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9. Consultation 9.1 Consultation with all key stakeholders is progressing as we continue to work as part of the Glasgow City Region. 10 Strategic Assessment 10.1 At its meeting on 26 October 2022, the Council agreed that one of its main strategic priorities for the Strategic Plan 2022 - 2027 is ‘A Strong local economy and improved employment opportunities’ 10.2 The proposals within this report are specifically designed to deliver on this priority. Alan Douglas Chief Officer: Regulation and Regeneration Date: 23 April 2025 Person to Contact: Elaine Troup elaine.troup@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendix: None Background Papers: UK Shared Prosperity Fund Report to Housing and Communities Committee 22 August 2022 Glasgow City Region City Deal- Council 13 August 2014. “City Deal Initiative” Clyde Valley Investment Fund- Council 30 April 2014 (Memorandum of Understanding). Clyde Valley Community Planning Partnership – City Deal Initiative – Council 28 August 2013. Wards Affected: All