Borders MSP talks up Rural Development Bank strategy
Borders MSP Rachael Hamilton has welcomed the launch of her party’s Rural Development Bank Policy.
The plans were unveiled by party leader Douglas Ross at the UK Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham earlier this month.
In her role as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Ms Hamilton played a key role in the development of the policy.
The bank will be the focal point of the party’s ‘Rural First’ policy approach and will give the Borders and other rural areas in Scotland a dedicated source of funding to apply for in order to access loans and grants that can be invested in the industry and the rural economy.
The Rural Development Bank will help communities in the Borders to invest in what matters to them, such as agricultural infrastructure or buildings of local importance to the area.
Ms Hamilton says that the bank is urgently needed, as rural communities have been left behind by an SNP Government obsessed with centralisation over the last 15 years, reducing the opportunities available for those living in rural areas.
She added that rural Scotland is being hit particularly hard with rising costs, and that the bank would ensure their needs are put first.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“All too often our rural communities have been left behind by the SNP Government over the last 15 years.
“That has meant fewer jobs and opportunities being available to people living in the Borders as the SNP have also centralised vital local services away from this area.
“The Rural Development Bank being proposed would ensure that our farmers and rural communities know where to turn to for a dedicated source of funding.
“This would allow more jobs and opportunities to be created for us here in the Borders, and enable people to stay here and attract others to make the Borders their place to live and work.
“It will also allow rural communities to invest in projects that matter to them as well as helping them cope with rising costs.
“All of Scotland deserves a fair chance. But people in the Borders and in other rural communities feel that they have been left behind by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP Government.
“By creating a Rural Development Bank, we are showing that we are putting rural Scotland first.”
