Yorkshire Forward Column: Innovative ideas to attract visitors can benefit from grant cash

Therefore it is important that our region's rural areas offer high-quality accommodation, to attract visitors and ensure they visit again.

Last year we commissioned research to look at the region's future needs for the continued growth of the visitor economy. The findings highlight the need to retain visitors and increase spend in rural Yorkshire and Humber, and increasing the quality of the accommodation offer was identified as a fundamental factor in achieving this.

Welcome to Yorkshire and the Area Tourism Partnerships are also

aware that those operators offering high-quality accommodation are continuing to achieve higher levels of occupancy.

Yorkshire's tourism industry can benefit from grants being made available through Yorkshire Forward. People seeking to start, grow or improve a tourism business in rural parts of the region could be eligible for cash as part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

RDPE's Rural Enterprise Investment Programme offers grants from 25,000, equivalent to 50 per cent of total project costs and is available for rural accommodation meeting certain criteria. High-quality accommodation must be developed with a National Quality Assurance outlined in the proposal. Grant applicants must identify how it will create new market demand in the locality, rather than just displace staying visitors from elsewhere.

Accommodation must add to Yorkshire and Humber's competitive advantage through innovation, offer accessible flexible space and bedrooms, and must be bookable on line. It should have strong green credentials. Proposals will also have to demonstrate good growth potential, high quality employment opportunities, or the development of a skilled and adaptable rural workforce.

Our emphasis for funding is on supporting serviced accommodation, however support may be available for high quality self-catering, camping, or hostelling.

A company which has benefitted from RDPE funding is Hall Farm, five miles from Grimsby, set in acres of farmland on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Over the past two decades Matthew and Angela Durrant have turned an abandoned farm yard in to a restaurant, conference and wedding venue. Prior to the grant application, bed space was not something the Durrants could offer and this restricted the growth of the business.

Now a luxury hotel, the 500,000 development of Hall Farm Hotel and Restaurant is complete, with eight boutique double bedrooms. Six jobs have been created.

Funding is only available in Yorkshire and Humber's rural areas and businesses can use the postcode checker to find out whether their location fits the criteria: www.york shire-forward.com/rural.

For further information, visit www.welcometo yorkshire.net

Andy Tordoff Assistant Director of Environment (Rural Renaissance and Tourism) Yorkshire Forward