Much of the progress Glasgow Chamber of Commerce pursues for the city’s economy takes longer than any single year to deliver,but in 2024 there will be significant milestones reached.
We cannot, for example, expect new public transport systems magically to be conjured up in 12 months but we should be able to tell whether the Government‘s commitment is genuine and properly resourced. Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken - a determined advocate of the Clyde Metro - announced that Strathclyde Partnership for Transport would lead the creation of the Metro’s outline business case and we would hope to see clear evidence of the emerging case this year.
SPT and the City Council have also been supporting the delivery of the Glasgow Bus Partnership to improve journey times through bus prioritisation measures. These have been very slow to develop but we must surely be getting closer to seeing physical delivery.
Much more certain is the introduction of new trains on the Subway the first of which began operation in December and which I can personally confirm are a significant upgrade. We know more new trains will be rolled out throughout 2024.
In support of our own plans to promote international trade with Europe, Asia and North American we would also like to see Glasgow Airport continue its recovery of routes lost during the pandemic. Top of the list this year must be direct connections with North America and we would ask both governments to be active supporters of that aim.
We can also be confident that Glasgow’s growing science and technology-rich industries will grow in profile. Last year saw 11 university research commercialisation projects attract a total of £33 million funding from the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator Partnership (IAP) and by the end of 2024 we should know how many have succeeded in attracting the 2:1 private funding leverage they had forecast. Success would be a powerful argument for a second round of IAP funding.
By the end of the year we should also know the shape of Glasgow’s £160m 10-year Investment Zone and the Chamber hopes that at least one of Glasgow City Region’s Innovation Districts will be supported. These districts, two led by the University of Strathclyde and one by the University of Glasgow, are the primary drivers of opportunity in the city’s new industries and 2023 saw initiatives such as the opening of the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland next to Glasgow Airport, the award of full planning permission for Bruntwood SciTech’s plan for a digital technology hub in the Met Tower and the announcement of the Health Innovation Hub in Linthouse. Investment Zone support whether through direct grants or tax incentives would provide a growth accelerant to projects that are already changing the face of Glasgow’s industrial base.
Next door to the Health Innovation Hub site we will also see the development of one of the biggest structures ever seen on the Clyde; the new ship hall at BAE System’s Govan yard. Big enough to accommodate the construction of two Type 26 frigates at once, it will be the most tangible symbol of the long-term sustainability of naval shipbuilding on the Clyde.
The Scottish Government’s Clyde Mission project for the regeneration of the banks of the River Clyde was transferred to the Glasgow City Region last year along with £25m of funding mainly aimed at funding renewable energy heating projects. We would very much like to see the University of Strathclyde’s city centre- based Climate Neutral Innovation District and the Scottish Events Campus ambitious next phase of expansion plans benefit from that funding. But the scale of the regeneration needed to deliver the Clyde Mission would really require funding at the scale of the original £1.3 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal. It will be 10 years since that deal was signed between the UK and Scottish Governments. 2024 would be a good year for both governments to confirm a second deal.
Stuart Patrick is chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
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