Latest news with #SOSE
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scotland's Borders Region Closer to Getting Mountain Biking Innovation Center
Scotland's Borders Region Closer to Getting Mountain Biking Innovation Center originally appeared on BikeMag. The South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) has announced plans for a Mountain Bike Innovation Center in Innerleithen that could create more than 400 jobs in the Borders region over the next decade. The multi-million pound center will require the razing of a textile mill building that dates 1788–one of Scotland's oldest industrial buildings still standing. Newer buildings had been added to the site over the centuries, and it was last used in 2011 and has been vacant since. The center will offer design and classroom space for UK and international businesses to create and showcase new mountain biking products in the 'heart of the UK's leading mountain biking destination,' SOSE said. It would also work closely with Edinburgh Napier University, which already has a robust mountain biking program. 'This is another important step forward for the Mountain Bike Innovation Centre project,' said SOSE Chair Russel Griggs, OBE. 'If planning permission is received, the new facility will allow high-value jobs to come to the South of Scotland, maximising the value of mountain biking to the area by getting more products and services designed and made here.' The SOSE has submitted a planning application for approval, and if green-lighted, the center could be operating on the site by 2027. Hope to convert the Caerlee Mill into a modern facility evaporated once structural issues and costs were determined to be prohibitive. The building would be demolished and a new center will be built on the grounds once the proposal is approved. The estimated £19 million ($25.6 million) innovation center will see Scottish, UK and international bike companies develop new mountain bikes and products. Funding is coming from the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, a UK government program that supports economic growth and opportunities. £4 million of that total will be used for the Tweed Valley Adventure Bike Park and Trail Lab. According to the SOSE, the mountain bike innovation center is predicted to create £138 million in gross-value-added revenue and create 400 jobs in the next 10 years. It will also host cycling-related academics and research by Edinburgh Napier University. The university is already active in supporting mountain biking development and health research in the region, and hosts the Mountain Bike Centre Scotland. The university is currently hiring for a Mountain Bike Innovation Centre consultant role to interact with the region's growing mountain biking economy. 'The new Mountain Bike Innovation Centre will offer a host of opportunities to make a positive difference to the Scottish cycling sector,' said Professor Nazira Karodia, Deputy Vice Chancellor at Edinburgh Napier University. 'We are pleased to see this latest step in its journey. Edinburgh Napier University has a strong track record of cycling research, innovation and collaboration, and this facility will significantly enhance our capability in these areas. We will continue to work closely with partners to help deliver a leading centre.' This story was originally reported by BikeMag on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Daily Record
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Partnership receives new funding from South of Scotland Enterprise
The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Partnership has received a new funding package from South of Scotland Enterprise. The funding will help support a number of projects, including boosting efforts to restore nature at a landscape scale and a red squirrel conservation scheme. The partnership is aiming to deliver new pilot projects that contribute to the Scottish Government's net zero and biodiversity strategies, as well as continue its programme of community and sustainable business development – such as the biosphere certification mark and biosphere communities programme. Chairman of the partnership's board of trustees, John Thomson, said: 'The funding we are acknowledging will help to power the UNESCO biosphere through a critical time. 'We recognise the tight budgetary constraints currently facing both the public and third sectors and against that background are greatly encouraged that South of Scotland Enterprise continues to recognise through its funding support the diverse benefits that UNESCO designation and the GSAB Partnership's activities bring to the region. 'Beyond funding, SOSE has championed the UNESCO biosphere as a driver of investment in South Scotland through sustainable business and tourism, and as a key protection for the natural and cultural heritage on which this depends.' The biosphere partnership also receives core funding from Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire Councils and as a registered Scottish charity also raises funds from grants, donations and legacies. A previous funding award from SOSE in 2020 allowed the partnership to raise the area's profile through programme such as the Heart of the Biosphere documentary and Merrick Scottish Blackface Knitwear. South of Scotland Enterprise chairman, Russel Griggs OBE, said: 'We are delighted to be one of the funders supporting the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, a proven asset for the region and one with huge potential still to be explored. 'We are particularly excited for the next phase of the biosphere's work in net zero and nature recovery as part of Scotland's Natural Capital Innovation Zone, which brings such immense scope for progress not only in policy and strategy but for grassroots action through which the whole of the South can truly thrive.' Biosphere director, Ed Forrest, added: 'The support of SOSE both as a funder and as partner in the development and delivery of shared objectives within the UNESCO biosphere will be transformative in empowering our delivery programme, particularly with the renewed focus on natural capital and nature recovery. 'The value of working in partnership with the public sector, businesses, landowners and communities is integral to achieving success in our pursuit of a better future for people and nature in our UNESCO biosphere.'
Daily Record
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
South of Scotland Enterprise officials claim agency has created and supported 10,000 jobs
The enterprise agency was officially launched in April 2020, with grants of more than £50million provided to businesses in that time. Officials at South of Scotland Enterprise claim they have helped create and support 10,000 jobs since the body was established five years ago. The enterprise agency was officially launched in April 2020 in a bid to boost inclusive growth across Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. And in its first five years, it's claimed it has provided grants of more than £50million to 800 businesses, with every £1 it invests resulting in more than £5 being invested in the region. SOSE chairman, Professor Russel Griggs OBE, said: 'When we launched, we made a promise to the people of the south of Scotland that we would be bold, different, ambitious and would listen. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "We are proud of the support we have provided – from Covid-19 support to creation and safeguarding of jobs to development of entrepreneurship and innovation – and believe it highlights the importance of the south having its own dedicated enterprise agency. 'Moving forward, we will ensure we are adaptive, forward thinking, innovative and responsive to the needs of our fantastic region.' SOSE also believes it has created or safeguarded around 10,000 jobs and helped distribute more than £26million during the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 626 businesses, social enterprises and community groups were supported, with nearly 90 per cent still operating. Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney, said: 'The Scottish Government is proud to support SOSE's efforts and I look forward to seeing how the agency goes from strength to strength in the future.'
BBC News
17-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Caerlee Mill: Demolition bid lodged for historic industrial site
Permission is being sought for the demolition of one of the oldest industrial buildings in was hoped that Caerlee Mill at Innerleithen in the Borders could be converted into a mountain bike innovation surveys last year found that the building - which dates back to 1788 - had severe structural the face of rising costs, South of Scotland Enteprise (SOSE) concluded that demolition and replacement of the B-listed mill was the best way forward and an application to take it down has now been lodged. Planning and design statements for the demolition say the building is understood to be one of the earliest industrial buildings to be constructed in Scotland.A number of buildings were added throughout its life but it ceased to operate in 2011, with the site vacant ever mountain bike centre - being delivered by SOSE with support from Scottish Borders Council and Napier University - is a flagship Borderlands Growth Deal is hoped it can create hundreds of jobs for the region over the next 10 was initially thought the old building could be converted but a design statement highlighted the cost of doing so would now far exceed the original £19m price to the condition of the site it has been estimated that to stick to the plans as first proposed would cost £ it could be demolished and replaced within the original budget, which is what is now being demolition is approved it is hoped the mountain bike centre could be completed by 2027.
