Borderlands told to 'put up or shut up'

The Borderlands conference was staged at the Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries

Hundreds of businesses and individuals have been urged to seize the chance of a cross-border "growth deal".

Dumfries and Galloway Council chief executive Gavin Stevenson said it was time for southern Scotland and northern England to "put up or shut up".

He was speaking at the first Borderlands conference staged on the Crichton campus in Dumfries.

Scottish Economy Secretary Keith Brown said there was "a real sense something is stirring" in the area.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced support for the growth deal in his budget last year.

It would bring together the five cross-border local authorities covered by the councils of Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Northumberland, Cumbria and Carlisle City.

Representatives from across the five council areas attended the event

Mr Brown said the Scottish government was keen to see it succeed.

"Growth deals are a relatively new part of the economic development landscape in Scotland," he said.

"They do have the potential to be transformational.

"The Scottish government has the ambition to see growth deals take place across the whole of Scotland."

'No magic wand'

Oliver Mundell MSP also addressed the conference on behalf of his father, Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

"I am heartened to see so many people from across our Borderlands region here," he said.

"You have the opportunity to provide a real shot in the arm to our local economy."

Dumfries and Galloway Council leader Elaine Murray said the deal was not a "magic wand or panacea" but could nonetheless prove "transformational".

She said it was important to realise that if these areas thrived they could also contribute to the national economy.

'Unique deal'

"Borderlands is not just about what government can do for us but also about what we can do for you," she said.

Chief executive Mr Stevenson said it was an opportunity everyone needed to seize.

"This has to be a unique deal - it has to be a deal that brings inclusive growth to everywhere across our area," he said.

He said the region needed to capitalise on its green credentials, strengthen trade across the border and develop its "offer to the world".

"What we need now is to reposition our economy and reinvent ourselves - make ourselves an attractive place to come and do business, not just an attractive place to live," he said.

He said that way they could deliver the opportunities that communities and young people in the area deserved.