Huge cash boost for two Clacks projects
Uni hub and garden to benefit from City Region Deal
Stirling University and the Japanese Garden at Cowden this week officially became part of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.
Two Clacks Fund projects were announced yesterday (Thursday). They are a Stirling University Intergenerational Living Innovation Hub in Clackmannanshire and a visitor centre at the Japanese Garden at Cowden.
The university has been awarded £7.25m from the fund for the hub and the garden £750,000 which, with match funding, will be used towards the development of permanent visitor facilities.
Both the university and the garden have now been invited to submit more detailed proposals and will receive funding subject to approval of the business cases in support of these proposals. Chairperson of the Clackmannanshire Commission, councillor Ellen Forson said: “Clackmannanshire is an exciting place to be and the Clacks Fund announcement is another step forward in unlocking further opportunity and potential within the county to ensure that we deliver economic growth in a way that benefits our residents and communities.
“We are delighted to be working with the University of Stirling and the Japanese Garden at Cowden on these exciting projects.”
Principal and vice chancellor of the University of Stirling, professor Sir Gerry McCormac said: “We know that across the world, populations are ageing, disrupting traditional economic and social patterns, and creating demand for new technologies, products and services.
“Thanks to the £7.25m investment in the University of Stirling, provided through the Clackmannanshire Fund, the Intergenerational Living Innovation Hub will put Clackmannanshire at the epicentre of ageing research, breaking new ground in the advances that make a meaningful difference to communities locally, and across the world”.
And chairperson of the Japanese Garden Trust, Sara Stewart said: “This funding is vital for our plans to continue to develop our unique new tourist attraction which generates much needed revenue and investment into Clackmannanshire’s economy.
“The fund is also helping to restore an asset of outstanding national importance, not just of historic value but as a work of art.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “These two fantastic projects, supported by the UK Government’s £8m Clackmannanshire fund, will bring jobs, visitors and further investment to the area.
“Together they will build upon Clackmannanshire’s existing strengths while also developing innovative solutions to international challenges as people live longer.
“The UK Government is levelling up communities and building back better from the pandemic, and we are investing more than £1.7bn into projects with local partners across Scotland to do this.”