MORE jobs, more space for businesses and better links with Faslane are the key elements for Helensburgh in outline proposals for a ‘rural growth deal’ in Argyll and Bute.

Members of Argyll and Bute Council will be asked today to approve outline plans to boost the economy of the whole area in the hope of securing finance for a deal from the Scottish and UK governments.

The draft proposals will be considered at meetings of the authority’s policy and resources committee, and of the full council a few hours later, in Lochgilphead.

Council leader and Helensburgh councillor Aileen Morton said the projects contained in the outline plan were “a starting point” for the agreement of a growth deal similar to the city and region deals already in place in many areas of Scotland.

Writing in this week’s Advertiser, Cllr Morton said the key to the success of a deal in the Helensburgh and Lomond area lay in making the most of the Maritime Change Programme being undertaken by the Ministry of Defence, which will see the whole of the UK’s submarine service based at Faslane – increasing the workforce at the Clyde naval base to 8,500 military and civilian personnel by 2022.

Cllr Morton said: “Our aim is to create more local jobs and make the area more attractive for everyone – including the navy families who will be moving here over the coming years.

“We will look to grow the economy by providing space in Helensburgh for supply chain businesses, as well as other businesses not related to Faslane, and we are also working with organisations such as Strathclyde University to create an engineering hub that supports both business and research.

“The wider aims of the project are then about tying the investment at the base to the local communities – such as the potential to invest in the Peninsula villages to make them more attractive to the families coming into this area.

“Another area to be discussed with the governments is the potential to improve sustainable public transport links to Faslane.

“This would be not just from the town but also to key sites such as the airport and the RAH, with the expectation that all local residents could use the new services created.”

The proposal is made up of 16 individual projects which have been developed following consultation with the public, as well as local and national organisations with a role to play in making the deal happen.

Helensburgh councillor Gary Mulvaney, policy lead for strategic finance and capital regeneration, said the projects, if agreed at today’s meetings, will serve as a starter for negotiation with the UK and Scottish Governments.

“There are limits to what we can ask for as part of a deal,” he said.

“Growth deals don’t provide funding for day-to-day council services for example, so do not help in bridging budget funding gaps.

“To be successful, a deal has to tie local growth with the aims of the UK and Scottish Governments.

“The projects set out in the proposal are about placing investment where it would deliver the best, long-term benefit for the area.

“While they may change as negotiations progress, these projects provide a strong starting point for negotiation, and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to us reaching this stage.

“Local backing plays an important part in securing a deal and that has come through loud and clear.”

The projects focus on three key areas for growth: connecting the area’s high value business sectors with national and international markets and strategic priorities, attracting additional skills, training and learning opportunities and new residents, visitors and businesses, and making more of the area’s natural and built resources.