SMALL rural businesses in the North-East will benefit from a £1m Government grant aimed at strengthening the economy.

Companies with less than ten workers will be able to apply for funding between £10,000 and £150,000 from the small business growth fund to develop new jobs.

The cash, from Defra's Rural Development Programme, follows a £3.2m investment in the pilot North-East Rural Growth Network to help more than 30 small businesses across Durham, Gateshead and Northumberland.

Fiona Cruickshank OBE, North-East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) board member, said: “This will make an important contribution to economic growth and help to underpin the wider programme of support for small businesses and bolster rural economies.”

Businesses applying for the fund must present projects which will boost turnover, create new jobs and open up new markets.

Ted Salmon, vice chair of the North-East Rural Growth Network and chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed the move.

He said: “New and small businesses are vital to our rural communities and this will be a critical factor in helping them realise their potential.”