City deals revealed as directionless
City Region deals in Scotland lack direction and should be realigned behind efforts to lower emissions, the Scottish Greens have said.
Responding to the Audit Scotland report which shows the high-profile funding packages have no way of measuring success, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “While it would be hard to spend £5.2bn without some kind of positive impact, this troubling report reveals just how opaque and directionless George Osborne’s City Deals have turned out in Scotland.
“No doubt some worthwhile projects have been funded, but in many places old proposals that just never made sense have been dusted down and given the green light.
“This could have been a huge opportunity to redesign communities and local economies to tackle the climate emergency, but Audit Scotland’s report demonstrates the complete lack of focus. Communities have also been denied a say about how the money should be spent.
“This report should be a wake-up call to the Scottish Government. Scotland’s city and region deals need to stop financing failed old models of city planning like bypasses and flyovers and be re-profiled to prioritise efforts to lower emissions and build the sustainable, inclusive cities of the future.”