Food and Tourism to Benefit from South of Scotland Funding

Food and drink and tourism are among the beneficiaries of £2.16m of funding to support local businesses and promote economic growth in the south of Scotland.

First Minister Alex Salmond and and Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, announced the cash injection from European Structural Funds as the Scottish Cabinet met in Stranraer.

The money will help assist further business development, supporting more SMEs to build local businesses and bring 164 jobs to the area.

Those benefiting from funding across the region include the South of Scotland Business Competitiveness Project, awarded £584,814 to improve business performance, sustainability and regional competitiveness.

The project will focus on sectors vital to the local economy including tourism, food and drink, and renewables.

Among a wide variety of activities, the project will help rural businesses diversify and support companies to improve their products and expand into new domestic and overseas markets.

Mr Salmond said: "This money will go directly to local businesses right here in Stranraer and the rest of the south of Scotland. It will help them expand their business and grow their turnover, and in doing so will help them create jobs and boost the local economy.

"In particular, Stranraer's South of Scotland Business Competitiveness Project is going to focus on promoting sectors that are already vital to the local economy like tourism, renewables and food and drink. That is critical to making this area as competitive as it can possibly be.

"But it's not just here in Stranraer. Throughout the rest of the south of Scotland, the money will go to support new offices, a regional business hub and an industry park that it's hoped will help attract inward investment.

"This level of public sector investment helps support the local and regional economy and, most importantly, helps sustain and promote small businesses in hard financial times."

Mr Neil, said: "These projects are creating jobs, helping local people gain new skills and will grow the economy locally and in Scotland as a whole.

"By supporting local initiatives, these funding awards will benefit the communities where they are based and strengthen business development over the coming years, as well as bringing much-needed employment to the area."

The projects will be match-funded by Dumfries & Galloway and Scottish Borders councils respectively.

Councillor Roger Grant, chair of planning, housing and environment services at Dumfries and Galloway, said: "We are absolutely delighted to learn about this £2m investment from the European Regional Development Fund.

"European funding has allowed us to achieve so much in the region and I am particularly pleased that through the South of Scotland Business Competitiveness Project we will be able to help improve the performance, sustainability and competitiveness of our all important small businesses across the south of Scotland."

Councillor Vicky Davidson, executive member for economic cevelopment at Scottish Borders Council, said: "The level of investment from the ERDF programme is very welcome.

"Given the economic value of the tourism and food and drink sectors to the economy of the Scottish Borders, I am delighted that businesses in these sectors will be able to access further support through the competitiveness project."

More food and tourism news from Scotland.