Members of the City of Inverness Area Committee are to be brought up-to-date with the progress of the Seven Cities Alliance next week.

Inverness is one of seven cities, alongside Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Stirling, which has signed up to the project to help improve economic growth and investment in infrastructure.

On Monday 3 December members will be given an update with how the scheme is progressing.

The Scottish Government has established a £7m Cities Investment Fund to support the work of the Alliance.

This, it is hoped, will speed up the rate of investment in cities by levering in public or private funding and supporting partnership programmes between cities and their regions to develop large scale projects.

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One such project is a current scheme to improve mobile communications between the cities and help improve business across the regions.

Leader of the City of Inverness Area Committee, Councillor Ian Brown said: "Involvement with the Alliance fits in with the Council’s programme, Working Together for the Highlands. It confirms our commitment to prioritise and support the creation of quality jobs in the Highlands. It will also encourage local enterprise initiatives and investment locally, as well as supporting key industrial sectors.

"By working together with our colleagues in the other cities we are sharing knowledge and good practice, making the most of new opportunities and promoting the Highland economy as competitive, sustainable and adaptable."

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) is acting as a body to help deliver the strategy and to co-ordinate the groups’ activities.

A contribution by Inverness of £10,000 per annum for the next 3 years will be met from the Planning and Development Service’s Economic Initiatives Budget.

(IT)