Grants for new tourist facilities in North Norfolk Objective 2 area

Tourist accommodation providers along North Norfolk's holiday coast between Wells-next-the-Sea and Cromer could be eligible for grants to help them introduce new facilities for visitors.

North Norfolk's hotels and guest houses, as a priority, and also self-catering accommodation and camping and caravan sites, could qualify for Tourism Capital Grants of up to 40% of a project's cost if they fall in an Objective 2 zone, and if they plan to spend more than £6000 to create a tangible new asset.

North Norfolk District Council has joined a dozen other East Anglian local authorities, the East of England Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund to support the East of England Tourist Board's grant scheme across all of East Anglia's Objective 2 areas. In North Norfolk alone, some £160,000 will be available over the scheme's four-year lifespan.

The grant fund is being administered by the East of England Tourist Board. To find out more about what projects qualify, or to get an application pack, call Helen Sear, Capital Grant Manager, on (01473) 828227. Or write to her at: EETB, Toppesfield Hall, Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 5DN.

The grant scheme is meant to create new draws for tourists, but also to ensure that these new facilities are of a high quality. Recipients will be expected to use the grants in ways which boost the prosperity of the area through tourists' spending, safeguard or create jobs, and demonstrate high standards of management and marketing.

In addition, grants will only be given to accommodation-providers if they are used to achieve certain English Tourism Council quality standards.