February 19, 2018 4.32 pm This story is over 73 months old

EU funding bid to extend Lincolnshire business support and beach repair

Funding from the EU.

Lincolnshire County Council will bid for money from the European Union to extend its Business Lincolnshire hub and make improvements to the beach between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point.

The two bids will be seeking almost £5 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which gives out grants to underdeveloped areas to boost productivity, innovation and research.

The council will apply for £3,782,407 in ERDF funding to increase the size and scope of the Business Lincolnshire hub it operates.

Business Lincolnshire provides support, advice and training to help companies in the county grow.

Phase two of the hub will provide further advisory support, capacity building and growth funding.

The £6,304,012 project will start on June 1, 2019, and is expected to be completed by May 2022.

Lincolnshire County Council is investing £1,839,831 of its own funds for the project.

The council is also seeking £1 million to improve the Lincolnshire coastline.

Works will involve dredging sand from the sea bed and pumping approximately 500,000m3 of sand over a six-week period on to the beach in five main locations between Mablethorpe and Skegness.

The Environment Agency is contributing the remaining £6.5 million towards the project.

Councillors on Lincolnshire County Council’s Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee will consider the bids at a meeting in Lincoln on Tuesday, February 27.

The applications will then go to Councillor Colin Davie, executive member for economy and place, to be approved for submission.

Councillor Davie, an enthusiastic Brexit supporter, has been working to market Lincolnshire as a place for business in countries such as China and the United States of America.