Scotland’s Infrastructure: Delivering for people, nature and communities

Scotland has a £46bn infrastructure pipeline to deliver by 2030.

The big question isn’t the scale of investment. It’s whether we can deliver it in a way that communities genuinely feel the benefit.

So it was great to attend Investing in Scotland’s Infrastructure: Delivering for people, nature and communities at ScottishPower HQ in Glasgow yesterday.

Chaired by Sara Thiam of Prosper, the event brought together leaders from ScottishPower, SSE, Scottish Water and Openreach alongside Scottish Government and the Scottish Futures Trust to discuss this shared investment pipeline, expected to support around 27,500 jobs.

The scale of ambition is striking. If delivered, it could be transformative. But the real challenge is delivery.

Big numbers and ambitious timelines are one thing. Ensuring communities experience – and value – the upsides, rather than simply the disruption that comes with major projects, is another. The barriers to deployment will be complex as Aspect’s recent survey of industry leaders, Confidence on the Edge showed. Community buy-in will be critical.

That’s especially true as infrastructure, particularly in energy, is becoming an increasingly polarising political issue. At the very moment we are planning this ambitious pipeline, the political headwinds around delivery are only getting stronger.

We heard some strong case studies on community engagement, skills and local benefits. But the sector likely needs to go further: through greater collaboration across sectors, innovation in how communities are engaged and benefit, and clearer storytelling about what communities actually gain.

The organisations embedding this thinking from the outset of strategic planning are already seeing the benefits: stronger community support, lower risk and better project outcomes.

With Scotland’s infrastructure pipeline accelerating, getting this right will matter more than ever.