The North-east has long been recognised as a powerhouse for Scotland and the UK, but a City Region Deal could support delivery of supporting infrastructure to maintain this success for years to come.
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils are now in a negotiation phase with the Scottish and UK Governments on an Aberdeen City Region Deal, and the project team continues to engage with the local business community on the proposals.
A breakfast event at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce later this month examines the deal, which is a vision for the region’s future looking at four key policy areas of housing, connectivity, innovation and internationalisation.
The chief executives of both councils - Aberdeen City Council chief executive Angela Scott and Aberdeenshire Council chief executive Jim Savege - are at the breakfast to provide an update on the bid process and outline how the deal will progress over the coming months.
The councils accept that the deal presents huge opportunities but the full benefits will only be realised if private sector businesses take up the challenge.
Also at the event is Stephen Phillips from Burness Paull, who was directly involved in the early stages of the Glasgow & Clyde Valley City Deal - the first to emerge in Scotland.
He looks at the features that can be built into the framework to ensure strong engagement with the private sector, as well as what public sector partners need to do to smooth the path for private sector investment and how the benefits flowing from this level of public investment can be maximised.
The breakfast event is being held at the Marcliffe Hotel & Spa on Tuesday, November 17. More information can be found here.