Moray’s MSP, Richard Lochhead, MP, Angus Robertson and Forres SNP Councillor Irene Ogilvie have all welcomed the announcement of 4 Enterprise Zones, with Forres being included as a Lifesciences site. The announcement was made by Scottish Government Finance Secretary John Swinney. The Forres site covers 10 hectares and offers a strong opportunity to build on the cluster of expertise in the P4 Digital Healthcare sector which has developed along the Inverness-Elgin corridor, the sector having expanded from 50 to 80 active businesses between 2009 and 2011. SNP representatives from Moray have supported the development of the area’s economic strategy and have made strong representations to the Scottish Government in support of the region’s economic development, particularly in light of the Strategic Defence Review which has seen the RAF lose thousands of personnel from the area. Welcoming the news Richard Lochhead MSP said: " An enterprise zone for Forres and Moray to attract high value and prestigious life science jobs is a huge boost for the area's economic recovery. " This great news will help open a new chapter in Moray's economic future and will benefit the whole area. Indeed, this breakthrough will build on existing plans to establish Moray as an international centre of excellence for life sciences and digital health care. “ I congratulate everyone involved who has campaigned to have such a zone established in Moray and I thank Scottish Ministers for recognising our case. “ This latest development is hot on the heels of a flurry of announcements amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in Moray relating to the whisky, life sciences, energy and food sectors. “ It is heartening to see so much confidence returning to Moray.” Angus Robertson MP said: “ This is a good day for Forres and for Moray. “ Lifesciences is set to play a major role in Moray with companies investing in the area and Moray College developing a state of the art Lifesciences Centre at its Elgin Campus. “ The creation of an Enterprise Zone will offer significant incentive to attract and accelerate investment into the area. This will provide a boost for other sectors of the economy and support employment in other sectors. “ Our efforts to grow the Moray economy don’t stop here of course. We must continue to use every tool at our disposal to attract new business across a range of sectors.” Forres SNP Councillor Irene Ogilvie said: “ Local businesses have been under sever pressure with the major reductions in personnel at Kinloss, combined with the wider economic issues that are hitting us all. “ The Scottish Government has shown their commitment to the Forres area with regular visits by Scottish Government Ministers and they have clearly taken away the issues and acted upon them in a very positive way. “ We have been given a significant opportunity with the announcement of Forres as an Enterprise Zone and we now have our own job of work to do with this important economic tool.” |
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WELCOME FOR ENTERPRISE ZONE AT FORRESposted 25 Jan 2012 03:15 by Graham Leadbitter |