Development & Housing

We lead on the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) programme as a way of securing infrastructure investment that unlocks regeneration and inclusive economic growth.

TIF seeks to capture locally generated, incremental public sector revenues (e.g. business rates) that wouldn't have arisen were it not for investment in the delivery of “enabling” public sector infrastructure.

The use of TIF is normally predicated on a ‘but for’ test i.e. that but for TIF, the anticipated outcomes from a regeneration and economic perspective would not occur or not occur in the time frames which TIF would enable.

A TIF project must therefore demonstrate that the enabling infrastructure will generate additional public sector revenues to repay the financing requirements of the enabling infrastructure.

There are currently four TIF projects:

• Glasgow City Council’s £80m TIF scheme for the Buchanan Quarter is expected to unlock £310m in private investment and create almost 1,500 jobs
• Fife Council is investing nearly £20m to improve vehicle and marine access to Energy Park, Fife, allowing the potential for further offshore and wind projects to be developed
• Argyll & Bute Council’s £20m Lorn Arc project is aimed at extending Oban’s north pier and wider economic infrastructure which will act as a catalyst to grow marine tourism, renewables and aquaculture
• Falkirk Council is investing over £67m to support its commercial activity, manufacturing and distribution and support sectors in Grangemouth which will include strategic road improvements and flood defences.

Two further TIF projects, one based in North Ayrshire and the other again in Fife, are currently being developed and are being taken forward to full Business Case for approval.