Exclusive:Rachel Reeves to pledge millions more Grangemouth funding in Budget
The Chancellor will promise the money as part of the former oil refinery site’s transition into a green industrial hub.
Rachel Reeves will announce an extra £14.5 million funding for Grangemouth at the Budget on Wednesday.
The Chancellor will promise the money as part of the former oil refinery site’s transition into a green industrial hub.
It comes on top of £200m National Wealth Fund money which was announced last year.
A UK Treasury source said: "We said we would stand squarely behind communities like Grangemouth, and we meant it.
“And we’re building on what we have done already by putting millions in as a starter to help put the community on a firm footing and strengthening its places as part of the clean energy revolution.
“These investments will help deliver a fair transition for Grangemouth, securing jobs for local people way into the future."
The £14.5m is to help projects prepare so they can unlock the National Wealth Fund money.
Roughly 400 workers at Grangemouth lost their jobs earlier this year after the site ceased refining oil.
The plant - which was Scotland’s last remaining oil refinery - officially closed in April after more than 100 years in operation.
The refinery was the oldest in the UK and an upgrade was deemed too expensive - although trade union Unite disputed this.
Petroineos - a joint venture between Chinese state owned PetroChina and Manchester United owner Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos - decided to convert the plant into a fuels import depot.
A Scotland Office source said: "Douglas Alexander has been clear that we are working hard to secure a long-term future for the Grangemouth site. This UK Government investment will create high quality jobs for the local community and help secure the future of Grangemouth as part of our clean energy future.”
The Chancellor’s funding commitment comes on top of the £200m from the National Wealth Fund pledged by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in February. SNP First Minister John Swinney also pledged £25m for the site in the same month.
The UK Government has also put forward the £100 million Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, which includes a Skills Transition Centre to help local people get into good jobs.
This latest Grangemouth commitment builds on investments in Scotland’s clean energy industries, including £17.3 million of the Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone and headquartering GB Energy in Aberdeen.
Ms Reeves will announce more details about the investment at the Budget on Wednesday.
It follows the recent announcement that hundreds of jobs are at risk as the Mossmorran chemical plant in Fife is set to close.
The ExxonMobil plant – which produces the base material for plastics – is expected to shut in February. The decision puts more than 400 jobs at risk, including 180 staff at the factory and 200 contractors.
The Scottish Government has asked the UK Government to use "levers for an industrial intervention" to save the Fife Ethylene Plant.
It cited the UK Government nationalising British Steel in Scunthorpe of an example of how it could be done.
But Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the closure was a "commercial decision" and that his focus would be on "supporting the workforce in the months ahead”.
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman said: “Grangemouth, as the PM said is an area of industrial brilliance, and it should be the UKs capital for the green industrial revolution that the country needs.”
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