Conference to celebrate the success of the Borderlands Growth Deal

Representatives from councils, businesses, projects and communities across the north of England and south of Scotland are coming together to mark the success and progress of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal.

Signed in March 2021, the deal is a 10-year programme to deliver long-term economic and social benefits to all parts of the region.

It has already helped deliver projects such the Mountain Bike Innovation Centre in Innerleithen, the Dairy Nexus near Dumfries, and the University of Cumbria Citadels Campus.

Regional Growth Deals are the vehicle for driving investment and economic growth in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; in England they follow the mayoral combined authority model. The Borderlands Partnership manages the only Regional Growth Deal which spans the English-Scottish border, covering a mostly rural area comprising Northumberland, Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Borders.

The Partnership is a diverse coalition – three Conservative councils, one Labour, one Lib Dem, plus the UK and the Scottish Government – all working on shared aims. The conference, being held at the North Lakes Hotel & Spa in Penrith on Thursday, June 22, will hear from ministers from both governments, council leaders, and some of the projects being supported.