Falkirk Council launches Gateway development site

A suite of new marketing materials have been unveiled to help attract investment opportunities at the Falkirk Gateway development site.Funded using Falkirk Council’s innovative Tax Incremental Funding (TIF) model, the Gateway is a project involving 150 acres of land. Initial plans involve the formation of a new urban quarter, via £17 million of pump-priming investment.A number of development sites and infrastructure projects fall under the Falkirk Gateway umbrella, including the state-of-the-art Falkirk Community Stadium and delivery of a new £83m STEM focussed Forth Valley College campus.Falkirk Council appointed commercial property advisor GVA earlier this year to stimulate market interest and help attract investors to the site.The council has been preparing the Gateway site to make it ready for development; works have included site investigations, topographical surveys, a review of broadband and utility provisions and preparation of an overall drainage strategy for the site.Details of the opportunities available were unveiled at a launch event held in Falkirk Stadium yesterday.The speakers included Douglas Duff, head of Planning and Economic Development at Falkirk Council, who provided an overview of the opportunities, Jennifer Tempany, head of business development at Forth Valley College, who shared the vision for the new campus and Ross Martin, chair of the British Waterways Trust, who has a significant track record in the development and diversification of Scotland’s economy over the past 25 years.The Falkirk Gateway site is situated on the east side of Falkirk on the A9 (Falkirk northern distributor road) with access to the M9 network and good connections to the town centre.The Falkirk TIF initiative, funded in partnership with the Scottish Government, is a key priority of the Council and the proposed works aim to improve infrastructure across the area that will enable further development, support traffic flow and attract private investment.The Gateway site is one of 28 targeted investment zones identified by Falkirk Council. The sites all have development potential in varying sectors from residential, commercial and industrial to tourism and leisure.