HIGHLANDS & Islands Enterprise has been proven a success in developing the economy of the region, so the move to create a similar agency for the south of Scotland is understandable.
But the newly-Christened South of Scotland Enterprise Agency will have its work cut out in delivering its objective of growing the area’s economy.
The area has an ageing population, with young people migrating to the central belt and beyond – and with little opportunities, few are ever tempted back.
The opening of the Borders railway shows that infrastructure spend is trickling south but sustaining and growing communities that have faced years of decline will be quite a task for the body’s board, which it expected to be up and running in 2020.
The challenge for the agency will be to work with existing businesses to enable them to grow, and to foster the innovation required to establish new businesses.
The establishment of such an agency marks a sharp turnaround for the Scottish Government. Only last year HIE chairman Lorne Crerar had to dissuade the Scottish Government of its plan to merge HIE with Scottish Enterprise. His argument was that an enterprise agency should have intimate knowledge of the region it serves, and with yesterday’s announcement it would seem his advice has been heeded.
HIE was established half a century ago to combat migration out of the area. Fifty years on, it has proven its worth. Re-establishing the south of Scotland is another long-term project, but one that can be aided by a dedicated enterprise agency.
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