Innovation 'at the heart' of £700m Tay Cities Region Deal

The James Hutton Institute will receive £62m of funding in the deal

The Scottish and UK governments have announced a £300m investment across Tayside and Fife to potentially unlock a further £400m in external funding.

The £150m investment from each government is part of the City Region Deals.

Commitments include £62m for Invergowrie farming research centre, the James Hutton Institute and £26.5m for Fife's Eden Campus.

The deals are designed to encourage economic growth and create jobs.

Seven full city deals have now been signed in Scotland, with Glasgow signing the first in 2014.

'Ground-breaking projects'

The Tay Cities Deal is a partnership between governments, councils and the private, academic and voluntary sectors.

Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said the deal had "innovation at its heart."

He said: "It will support ground-breaking projects in those sectors that the region has particular strengths in, from life sciences, cybersecurity and forensic science to food production and the clean technologies which will be critical to the future of our planet.

"In signing this deal, we can now leverage in hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and create thousands of jobs opportunities across Tayside and north-east Fife."