A £60,000 fund has been set up to help small companies with projects which will either increase their turnover or create new jobs.

Richmondshire District Council has allocated the money – to be spent over the next two years – after a similar scheme last year helped 35 local businesses.

Up to £1,000 is available for each business – or 75 per cent of any project cost – to help them implement changes or improvements.

Last year projects included building new websites, employee training and skills development and the purchase of IT equipment to enable sales to be made online.

Council leader John Blackie said: “It was a huge success in its pilot first year in 2013 – and is a particularly appropriate scheme with the district’s very high percentage of small businesses and self-employed people.”

To qualify businesses in the district must employ four of less people and should be solvent with a maximum of £25,000 in their business reserves.

Initially applications will be considered by a panel of officers with recommendations then passed to the managing director, leader and deputy leader of the council for a final decision.

The scheme will run from October to October in each year, closing in October 2016 or earlier if all of the funding is allocated before then.

Applications will be categorised into five geographical areas – Central, Garrison, Lower Wensleydale, North Richmondshire and Upper Dales – with each area having £6,000 available to allocate within the first three months in a bid to ensure an equitable spread of grant across the sprawling district.

That will then be assessed in the New Year and if take up is not achieved the ring fence will be removed and the scheme opened to all businesses which satisfy the criteria.

“For a limited period the five area partnerships we have established in Richmondshire each receive an allocation of the fund - hopefully this will ensure a fair spread of projects both in the towns and in the rural areas of the district,” said Cllr Blackie.

“I call upon businesses to hurry up and get your application in before all the fund is spent,” he added.

The criteria and application form will be available to download from richmondshire.gov.uk shortly - search Small Business Grant Scheme 2014-15 for further information.

Any business wanting to discuss a potential project in detail should contact business and comm. Unity support officer Samantha Coultish on 01748-901037 or Samantha.Coultish@richmondshire.gov.uk