A scheme to help businesses breathe new life into redundant buildings across Shropshire today received a £1.5 million government cash boost. However, four other Shropshire schemes were snubbed.

The Marches Redundant Building Grants Programme was one of 119 schemes awarded money from the Regional Growth Fund today.

It will provide grants of up to £50,000 to small businesses in the Marches, allowing them to bring underused and redundant buildings back into use.

It was submitted by Herefordshire Council, but will be open to businesses in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

But four more Shropshire schemes were snubbed, meaning just one county project has benefited from the £1.4 billion pot in two rounds of applications.

Unsuccessful schemes included a £2.95 million bid to support research and development and tourism businesses, and a regional scheme working with housing authorities to lift homeowners out of fuel poverty.

Dr Geoffrey Davies, chairman of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership which supported the bids, said: “A lot of the money seems to be going to the deprived areas and they look at a large part of the Marches as being fairly wealthy. That’s all well and good, but it won’t provide the growth that we need.”

The LEP will now look to alternative methods of advancing the Marches’ business fortunes, including pushing forward Telford and Shrewsbury as possible locations for enterprise areas.