Nicola Sturgeon visits concert hall building site

NICOLA Sturgeon hailed a funding model which has seen £1.5 billion spent on Scotland’s infrastructure as she saw work being carried out on Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, one of the beneficiaries of the scheme.

Nicola Sturgeon oversees progress made on Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Picture: Hemedia

The Deputy First Minister said said the tax incremental financing (TIF) model would boost capital spending and support jobs and apprenticeships.

The scheme allows councils to fund infrastructure work by borrowing money against the cash they expect to raise in business rates once the projects are completed.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is part of the TIF-funded Buchanan Quarter project.

The initiative, which includes improvements to George Square, Upper Dundas Street and Buchanan Street as well as work on the Cathedral Street Bridge and Queen Street station, is using £80 million to lever in £310 million of private investment.