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Funds distributed locally by economic development schemes outlined

Details of funds distributed through the Support for Aberdeenshire Businesses (SAB) scheme and the Aberdeenshire Community Asset Fund for year 2010-11 are now available.

The SAB scheme is for businesses within Aberdeenshire, or businesses moving into Aberdeenshire, which have a business proposal.

The business has to demonstrate their proposal meets certain criteria, including bringing additional economic benefit to Aberdeenshire and demonstrating viability.

The SAB scheme in 2010-11 helped create 73 jobs and safeguard 53 jobs. Most of the businesses assisted are in the food and drink, energy or tourism sectors.

The Aberdeenshire Community Asset Fund was available to local community groups to develop an asset that would give them a new income. Funding of £40,000 was agreed by the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee (ISC) in May 2010.

In the last financial year the fund contributed £37,150 to projects which brought in another £295,885 from other sources of funding, a ratio of almost 8:1.

At a meeting in Aberdeen last week, ISC endorsed the information on spending from the economic development support schemes.

Chairman Peter Argyle highlighted the leverage provided through the Community Asset Fund and said he was pleased the scheme would continue.

“The amount of funding generated for the money spent is a ratio of almost eight to one, so I’m very pleased with the way this is helping communities so far,” he said.

“This has been very valuable to businesses that have taken part and it’s a good news story all round.”

Vice chair Jill Webster impressed the importance of the diversity of businesses assisted by the scheme.

“There’s quite a lot of innovative businesses we’re supporting throughout Aberdeenshire – it’s very diverse and certainly worthy of note,” she said.

To see a breakdown of SAB grants and loans awarded in 2010-11 by council area, figures broken down by industry sector and the distribution of the Community Asset Fund in 2010-11, please see the committee report on Aberdeenshire Council's website here.

The funding distributed to rural partnerships in 2010-11 was reported to ISC on March 17.