Inverness has made a major breakthrough in its bid to win a £300million City Deal, it can be revealed.
The UK Government is to hand Highland Council £100,000 to accelerate its plans to win the special status – and the landmark package is expected to be signed off by ministers later this year.
The money could be used to help pay for a proposed new regional sports centre, a visitor attraction at Inverness Castle and a cultural development featuring a museum, library and gallery.
Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, who is fighting to save his Inverness seat at May’s election, said: “The City Deal will build on the enormous amount of good work that has gone into making Inverness the thriving city it is.
“It will dramatically boost opportunity and growth.
“A lot of hard work has already taken place behind the scenes to get us to this stage and I’m delighted that formal negotiations will soon commence.
“The Highlands are booming, with 6000 new jobs created in this constituency alone since 2010.
“Our Highland voice is being heard at the heart of government and I’m determined to do all I can to help secure this initiative that has the potential to do so much for our area.”
Highland Council has been lobbying the Treasury for a City Deal package and believes it could be worth £300million to the area in new funding, borrowing powers and spin-off investment.
Glasgow became the first Scottish city to secure the status last year, winning £1.2billion in UK and Scottish government funding, as well as loan money.
Each agreement is different depending on the needs of the local area, but all aim to provide extra levers to boost growth, including direct funding, greater borrowing powers, the ability to “earn back” tax from the Treasury, control of transport budgets and the ability to develop specialised skills programmes.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg revealed to the Press and Journal in January that he hoped to make progress with the package for Inverness before the election.