Falkirk Council, alongside appointed commercial property advisor GVA, has officially launched its Falkirk Gateway development site, unveiling marketing materials for the first time in order to attract local, national and international investment.
The Council created the Gateway development site in a bid to entice investors and therefore boost the future economic prosperity of the area. GVA was appointed to stimulate market interest and help attract investors to the site.
Funded using Falkirk’s innovative Tax Incremental Funding (TIF) model, the Gateway is a project involving 150 acres of land. Initial plans involve the formation of an exciting new urban quarter, via £17m of pump-priming investment.
A number of development sites and infrastructure projects fall under the Falkirk Gateway umbrella, including the state-of-the-art Falkirk Community Stadium and delivery of a new £83m STEM focussed Forth Valley College campus.
The Council has been preparing the Gateway site to make it ready for development; works have included site investigations, topographical surveys, a review of broadband and utility provisions and preparation of an overall drainage strategy for the site.
Details of the opportunities available were unveiled at a launch event held in Falkirk Stadium yesterday. The speakers included Douglas Duff, head of Planning and Economic Development at Falkirk Council who provided an overview of the opportunities, Jennifer Tempany, head of Business Development at Forth Valley College who shared the vision for the new campus and Ross Martin, chair of the British Waterways Trust, who has a significant track record in the development and diversification of Scotland’s economy over the past 25 years.
Falkirk Council leader Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn commented: “We’ve been working on raising the profile of Falkirk on a national and international level and we are keen to build on that success by commencing the marketing of the Gateway site. These new plans signal another step in the transformation of Falkirk’s economic fortunes.
“It is a very exciting project which is being supported financially through the Council’s £67m TIF Scheme. The Gateway is a prime, centrally located site and we are keen to work with businesses, developers and investors who are interested in making the site a success. With the significant and growing appeal of the Kelpies, the Community Stadium facility and the forthcoming Forth Valley College campus, there’s huge investment potential for developers across tourism, business and leisure.”
Keith Aitken, regional senior director of GVA, added: “The Gateway site is an exceptional location for investment with an excellent range of opportunities and a supportive planning framework.
“Innovative developments like the Kelpies, Helix Park, the Stadium and the new College Campus make the wider Falkirk area an attractive place to visit and do business. This, coupled with a Council with a can-do approach, means I’m confident we are well placed to attract investment in the Gateway’s exciting new urban quarter.”
The Falkirk Gateway site is situated on the east side of Falkirk on the A9 (Falkirk northern distributor road) with access to the M9 network and good connections to the town centre.
The Falkirk TIF initiative, funded in partnership with the Scottish Government, is a key priority of the Council and the proposed works aim to improve infrastructure across the area that will enable further development, support traffic flow and attract private investment.
The Gateway site is one of 28 targeted investment zones identified by Falkirk Council. The sites all have development potential in varying sectors from residential, commercial and industrial to tourism and leisure.
