More than £394 million is to be invested into the five local authority areas on both sides of the border between England and Scotland.

The deal covers Dumfries and Galloway Council, Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Scottish Borders and Northumberland County Council.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell was joined on Monday by Minister for the Northern Powerhouse Jake Berry, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson, and the leaders of the five councils to sign the deal for the region.

Up to £265 million is coming from the UK Government, £85 million from the Scottish Government and the remainder coming from the other partners.

Some of the projects, which are all subject to approval of business cases, include:

• up to £19 million for a mountain bike innovation centre
• up to £10 million joint funding with Scottish Government to assess the feasibility of extending the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Carlisle
• up to £15 million in improvements at Carlisle railway station, as the largest station in the Borderlands, to enhance connectivity and access into the wider Borderlands region
• up to £16.2 million in the South of Scotland to improve digital connectivity
• up to £7.8 million to the development of a new business and employment site at Chapelcross, a former nuclear power station
• up to £4 million to support research and innovation in the dairy industry

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: “This is an ambitious approach to cross-border working between governments, local authorities and partners which will boost economic growth by helping existing business, encouraging new ventures and bringing a wealth of improvements to people who live and work in the area and to visitors.

“The Borderlands deal has made huge progress in the last 18 months. I’d like to thank the five ‎local authorities who have worked so well together, along with the UK and Scottish governments, to achieve this.”

Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, Jake Berry MP, said: “This once-in-a-generation deal will deliver unprecedented investment in the Borderlands region while strengthening our cross-border links.

“We have moved closer to finalising a deal which will deliver over 5,500 jobs, dramatically improve transport and digital connectivity, boost tourism and generate around £1.1 billion of economic benefits for the region.

“With the combined strength of the UK, Scottish and local governments, let’s use this Borderlands Deal to realise a new era of regeneration, inclusive growth and limitless economic opportunities for the Borderlands and the whole of the Northern Powerhouse.”