A digital health centre of excellence has been the showcase project of the first year of the once-in-a-generation £100 million Moray Growth Deal – and further ground-breaking projects are moving forward at pace.
The Moray Growth Deal is a transformative programme funded by the Scottish and UK Governments and regional partners, that will create more than 3,500 jobs, attract 50,000 more tourists, construct more than 300 new affordable homes, support 450 businesses to scale up, increase Moray’s GVA by £82m and create new and improved facilities and services.
The recently published first Annual Report for the Growth Deal initiative, covering activity in its first year between December 2021 and December 2022, outlines how the £5m Rural Centre of Excellence (RCE) for Digital Health and Care Innovation was the first of eight projects to reach delivery.
The RCE includes a Demonstration Simulation Environment at UHI Moray’s Alexander Graham Bell Building in Elgin and ‘Living Labs’ testbeds to develop innovative digital health and wellbeing solutions initially in healthy living and weight management; care planning and care in place; smart housing and smart communities; co-managing longer term conditions; and mental wellbeing.
The report also highlights the approval of the £4.3m Bus Revolution project. Aiming to increase public transport usage, the new bus service is currently rolling out electric buses covering routes and an on-demand app for passengers to book travel.
Cllr Marc Macrae, Moray Council’s Growth Deal Lead, said: “Moray’s £100m Growth Deal will enable the council and its partners to capitalise on new opportunities and address challenges that will enable us to build a prosperous economic future for the region and its people.”
Also in 2022, detailed engagement got underway for the £31.6m Cultural Quarter to help shape the vision for Elgin Town Hall and Grant Lodge, and attract investment for tourism infrastructure and a new hotel.
The £24m Moray Aerospace, Advanced Technology and Innovation Campus – a cutting edge commercial and academic training and research centre – is benefitting from a revised offer of enhanced collaboration from an industry partner which will put Moray at the forefront of aviation training.
And the tender process for the Dallas Dhu housing site design work launched, now awarded to Fraser/Livingstone Architects and kickstarting the £7.5m Housing Mix Delivery Growth Deal scheme to stimulate housing development in town centres, unlock constrained sites and promote sustainable design and construction techniques.
The newly-created Growth Deal Programme Management Office is anticipating the pace of Moray Growth Deal activity to increase significantly this year, with six of the eight projects expected to be in delivery by the end of 2023.
Full business cases will be developed for all projects including the £6.3m Business Enterprise Hub to support start-up and scale-up businesses; the £5m Manufacturing and Innovation Centre for Moray to stimulate business growth; and the £4.8m Early Years STEM project to grow interest in science, technology, engineering and maths amongst children aged three to eight years old.
Cllr Macrae said: “To achieve this, there will be a significant amount of engagement with a variety of audiences. It is important to flag that this is a key area of focus, as these relationships will be critical to maximise the positive impact generated as activity moves into delivery.
“We are confident that this Deal can deliver strong social and economic improvements and we are on track to deliver these for Moray.”
