More than £150,000 is to be made available to businesses in Argyll and Bute over the next three years.
A surplus of £154,700 has been left following the closure of the West of Scotland Loan Fund (WSLF), and this money will now be set aside to boost small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the area.
Following a decision taken by councillors at last week’s policy and resources committee, the surplus funding will allow the council to continue to provide growth grants and expert help to businesses throughout the Argyll and Bute area for an additional three years.
Additionally, the council will work to increase the funding further through the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).
The Rural Growth Deal is a proposal which sees the council, along with public, private and voluntary sector partners, putting together a bid designed to attract UK and Scottish Government investment, along similar lines to the city region deals.
Aileen Morton, policy lead for economic development, said: “It’s great that this money has now been released back to the council for us to use to support local businesses.
“Argyll and Bute has a huge number of small to medium sized businesses and this will be an opportunity to build on the advice and support already available through our Business Gateway team.”
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