New ferry for Fair Isle as UK Government confirms Levelling Up cash

A new ferry for Fair Isle is one of ten Scottish projects to receive the support of the UK Government’s Levelling Up fund, it has been announced.

The successful bid made by Shetland Island Council will see £27m provided for a new roll-on, roll-off vessel to improve transport links to the small island 24 miles south of the Shetland mainland.

A similar bid was made during the first round of Levelling Up funding last year but was unsuccessful at the time.

Scottish projects are receiving £177m from the total £2.1bn in this round, in a bid to boost economic growth and activity across the UK.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “By reaching even more parts of the country than before, we will build a future of optimism and pride in people’s lives and the places they call home.”

The other successful projects are:

• £20m to turn Peterhead’s disused Arbuthnot House into a new museum, library and cultural hub
• £20m to refurbish Kilmarnock’s Palace Theatre
• £14m to promote sustainable transport in Dundee
• £20m for the regeneration of Greenock town centre
• £19m for Stirling regeneration
• £19.4m to improve Riverside Park in Fife
• £9m for Cumbernauld regeneration
• £11.3m for the green regeneration of a former power station site in East Lothian
• £18m to turn old buildings into cultural spaces in Dumfries and Galloway.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “We are firing the starting gun on more than a hundred transformational projects in every corner of the UK that will revitalise communities that have historically been overlooked but are bursting with potential.”

Scottish Tory local government spokesman Miles Briggs welcomed the announcement. He said: "It is brilliant to see so many projects secure funding as the UK Government continues to deliver for the people of Scotland. The Levelling Up Fund highlights how our country can collectively tackle regional challenges by working together as one United Kingdom."