A UK Government guarantee to the value of £86 million will allow a major development in Aberdeen to go ahead that will deliver new housing, schools, healthcare and parks.

Countesswells will comprise 3,000 homes, of which 750 will be affordable, along with the infrastructure required to support the community that will include schools, informal and formal parks, leisure and healthcare facilities. The development will be phased over 15 years, boosting the local economy and supporting 1,000 construction jobs in the region.

Announcing the UK Government guarantee in Aberdeen, Scotland Office Minister Andrew Dunlop said it was ‘a vote of confidence in the North East’.

The UK Guarantee works by providing a state-backed guarantee to help projects access finance. The guarantee will enable funds to be raised from the Capital Markets, issued as revolving Loan Notes, to support the £1b infrastructure project at Countesswells. The Funder for the Countesswells development will be Bank of Scotland, who has worked alongside Stewart Milne Group and HMT to create long term lending for the life of the project.

Speaking in Aberdeen, Andrew Dunlop said:

“The UK Government is offering this guarantee to allow this major Aberdeen project to go ahead. This is a great example of partnership working where the government can unlock the capital and the potential of the development.

This part of Scotland is facing some stiff challenges but today’s announcement is a vote of confidence in the North East by the UKGovernment and those involved in the project.”