Cash grants to help create extra jobs and expand firms could be flooding into Tendring as part of a major boost for the new millennium, it has been revealed.

The Government has taken assisted-area status away from Clacton and Harwich.

The towns were granted the status in 1993 at a time when Clacton was the unemployment blackspot of the South-East with 15.4 per cent of the workforce out of a job, and 14.8 per cent in Harwich.

They are now well below half those figures.

But there is good news as the whole of Tendring has now been nominated as falling within a new enterprise area from which many firms are set to benefit.

The move comes under a scheme to create a third tier of assisted areas from January 2000.

The changes were welcomed by Mick Page, chairman of Tendring Council's regeneration committee.

"Whilst it is true that we no longer have our intermediate assisted area status the really welcome news is that businesses throughout the whole district will be able to apply for assistance under the new scheme," he said.

"We have had several major successes in recent years attracting new ventures into the area and creating hundreds of new jobs without the benefit of government funding.

"At the same time a number of smaller concerns on the eastern side of Tendring have been able to expand with the assistance of grant aid."

Mr Page said under the new system companies that were previously excluded can look forward to similar help and that will be good for everyone.

The announcement of the change from Whitehall is due to be presented for EC approval in the near future.

It introduces the new Enterprise Grant Areas to the existing two-tier system under which only Clacton and Harwich were eligible for support in the past.

The Enterprise Grant Areas will be targeted at small and medium size businesses in the district which have 250 or less employees.

It is estimated that around 10,000 new jobs could be created in the East of England as a result of the new designation, with a significant number anticipated in Tendring.

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