Scottish Cities Alliance

The North East of Scotland will be transformed by over £30 billion of investment in the coming decade, according to a landmark report published today from Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce. Invest Aberdeen are proud to sponsor AGCC's seventh Investment Tracker, which highlights projects in the pipeline including energy, transport infrastructure, commercial and residential property, new health and education facilities and sport, leisure and culture venues for the region. ➡️ Read more about it here https://bit.ly/3CEtGiJ

It was a pleasure to recently take part in Scottish Cities Week in London. The event, organised by the Scottish Cities Alliance, celebrates the vision, ambition, and innovation of Scotland’s cities. As well as delivering remarks and reflections at a session focussed on realising the potential of our green industries, I also joined city colleagues for a roundtable with the UK Government. I'm looking forward to continued partnership working in support of Scotland's cities and their wider regional economies.

✨ Scottish Cities Week 2025 highlights ✨   Here's a look back at some of the key highlights from an action packed Scottish Cities Week 2025.   We kicked off with “Going for Growth: A Green Industrial Strategy”, kindly hosted by CBRE UK, showcasing Scotland’s leadership in advancing green growth agendas. The event featured Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Employment and Investment, emphasising the importance of creating well-paid jobs aligned with green growth alongside insightful contributions from Euan McVicar, Chair of Crown Estate Scotland, Sarah Murray, CEO of Forth Green Freeport, Judith Cruickshank, Chair of the Scotland Leadership Board at NatWest Group and Tim Cullen, Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Great British Energy.   Day Two highlights included a UK Government Stakeholder Engagement Networking Breakfast hosted by the Department for Business and Trade, followed by a roundtable discussion at Dover House with Kirsty McNeill MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office), focusing on place-based investment and sustainable economic growth.   In the afternoon, “Going for Growth: Enabling Infrastructure”, kindly hosted by JLL and facilitated by Prof Greg Clark CBE FAcSS, highlighted the critical role of real estate and infrastructure in economic growth, with expert insights from industry leaders.   Attendees capped off the day with a traditional Burns Supper at the Guildhall, in partnership with the City of London Corporation. The event celebrated innovation, entrepreneurship, and internationalisation, featuring discussions on Scotland’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the Immortal Memory delivered excellently by Dr Poonam Malik, MBA, FRSE FRSB.   Day Three focused on sustainable urban development with a networking breakfast and panel discussion hosted by Arup and facilitated by Becci Taylor, which set the stage for discussions on urban infrastructure and community engagement.   This was followed by a 3Ci (Cities Commission for Climate Investment) tour of Somers Town in the London Borough of Camden, showcasing the remarkable environmental and social projects funded by the ‘Future Neighbourhoods 2030’ initiative, including Somers Town Energy, retrofit, biodiversity projects, and much more   We’d like to say thank you to all our wonderful hosts, partners, speakers, facilitators, and attendees for making the events programme a tremendous success.   Together, we are making significant strides towards a sustainable and prosperous future for Scotland.   #ScottishCitiesWeek2025 #GreenGrowth #NetZero #SustainableFuture #InvestmentInScotland #EconomicGrowth #Collaboration #UrbanDevelopment 

This week sees City leaders and regional delivery partners attend a series of conversations and opportunities to collaborate for economies and place. Great to see Fife Council being represented and investment messaging shared via InvestFife and Forth Green Freeport

Fantastic to be back in London at Scottish Cities Week with representatives of Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport to raise the profile of the Highlands and Scotland to key decision makers and potential investors.

Yesterday was a busy one, but delighted to have had the opportunity to speak with the Scottish Cities Alliance. Some fantastic and rich content on the inclusive growth potential in our Scottish cities.

🏘️ Scottish Cities Week heads to the streets to meet net zero neighbourhoods🚶♀️➡️ Day Three of Scottish Cities Week 2025 continued to explore innovative solutions for sustainable urban development that can deliver for our communities. Beginning with a Networking Breakfast and panel discussion facilitated by Arup, city leaders and stakeholders were able to discuss the future of urban infrastructure and community engagement, setting the stage for the day to come. Following the breakfast, city representatives then embarked on a tour of Somers Town, Camden, supported by 3Ci (Cities Commission for Climate Investment) and London Borough of Camden. The tour highlighted the remarkable work being done by the council, in partnership with the Somers Town Community Association (STCA), Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum, and other key local partners, on various environmental and social projects including pocket gardens, meanwhile spaces and community gardens that provide opportunities for communities to become green fingered and even learn to grow their own herbs and vegetables. It was particularly special to meet with Farrah from Lifeafterhummus Community Benefit Society, which provides food aid by operating a social supermarket and re-use centre for 80 local households and a redistribution network that supports 11 local hostels, 1 after-school club and a faith group, and much more. City representatives left the tour feeling inspired, taking away fresh ideas that could be implemented in their own communities. As a showcase of the ‘Future Neighbourhoods 2030’ initiative, Somers Town exemplifies a green recovery from the pandemic and a just transition to net zero. With community-centred initiatives spanning climate resilience, the circular economy, biodiversity and retrofits, these projects are not only transforming the local environment but also setting a precedent for sustainable urban development that the Scottish cities can emulate. As we wrap up Scottish Cities Week 2025, we look ahead with optimism and inspiration from the innovative approaches and collaborative spirit demonstrated throughout the week, knowing that this will play a crucial role in driving forward our shared goals for sustainable growth in Scotland. #ScottishCitiesAlliance #Sustainability #NetZeroCommunities #UrbanDevelopment #GreenRecovery #CommunityResilience

Yesterday Helen Boyle and I on behalf of SSE Energy Solutions were fortunate to be able to attend a highly engaging and encouraging opening day of Scottish Cities Week organised by the fantastic Scottish Cities Alliance It was a great opportunity to touch base with city and industry leaders from across Scotland, where the scale of ambition and opportunity for investment is just incredible. No better example of this than the £800m+ investment into the Highlands that has successfully been marshalled in by Calum MacPherson and the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport team, SSE plc being one of the key players in this space. Amazing progress to date and just the start! The picture below captured MSP Tom Arthur closing the day with some of the key messages discussed between all, perhaps best summarised by one of the words of the day - Collaboration! Delivery of the Scot Gov Green Industrial Strategy is going to take an all hands approach and lots of passionate and forward thinking collaborators to achieve, if the attendees of yesterday's event was anything to go by - piece of cake! Thanks again to Lauren Pascu for the invite and CBRE for hosting.

This week Ian Yuill Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council and Julie Wood Chief Officer - Aberdeen City Council - City Development & Regeneration attended Scottish Cities Week 2025 in London with Scottish Cities Alliance. A chance to bring together elected representatives and officers from across Scotland's eight cities with the aims of attracting investment to Scotland and delivering economic growth. Cllr Yuill presented to the attendees on 'Going for Growth: Enabling Infrastructure' and met with Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill MP #ScottishCitiesWeek2025 #InvestABDN