£500,000 to aid rural tourism growth in Shropshire

It is part of Defra's Rural Development for England Growth Programme, which has seen £24 million allocated to different parts of the country.

The cash is being handed out through the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Businesses in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire will be able to apply for grants worth between £35,000 and £100,000, which will equal up to 40 per cent of the total project cost, although that figure could be extended to 80 per cent for some community projects.

Gill Hamer, director of the Marches LEP, said: "Tourism already makes a significant contribution to the Marches economy and we believe has the scope to grow further.

"We are keen to see investment secured that allows attractions to extend their offer outside of the peak season, that enables the development of new festivals and events that will attract overnight as well as day visitors, and that improves the information and infrastructure on offer to visitors.

"I would urge small tourism business, communities, farmers or landowners who might have a project in mind that could benefit from this funding to find out more."

The fund will be open until the end of October, and will look for applications which help develop tourism in the region.

At present, tourism is a sector which represents £1 billion of income to the counties' combined economy, and employs approximately 33,000 people. A maximum of 14 projects will be funded, although projects which are not eligible could be offered alternative funding in the autumn.

Farming Minister George Eustice said By helping our rural entrepreneurs to achieve their full potential, the roll out of the Growth Programme "is great news for our rural communities".

He said: "This funding is going to support businesses, bring high-quality jobs to rural areas, boost rural productivity and grow the local economy."

"They will need to show how their project fits with the key visitor economy priorities for the region and demonstrate that it will not displace activity from elsewhere, whilst making a contribution to the destination as a whole.

"The creation of jobs and an increase in overnight visitors to the region will also be a requirement of any application."