Farron welcomes Defra minister to Kendal today

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has today welcomed farming minister David Heath to Kendal to discuss farming and the rural economy.

Recently DEFRA announced that 900 jobs and almost 500 new businesses are expected to be created in Cumbria following the £3.5 million investment in a Rural Growth Network.

After much lobbying by Tim, the council and local businesses, the Government has announced that our community will benefit from major investment:

· Eight new work premises at Clawthorpe Hall, LA6 1NU

· Twenty new work premises at Marl, Ulverston, LA12 9BN

· Eight new work premises at Millom

· Ten new work premises at the University of Cumbria, Ambleside

Tim wrote to the county council in January asking them to make sure that Cumbria bid for the scheme and that the SouthLakes was prominent within it. Cumbria's bid to become a pilot Rural Growth Network was submitted by the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and has been named alongside Devon and Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, Northumberland and Durham and Warwickshire as those chosen to become pilot schemes.

Tim will also mention broadband today. Subject to pre-contract conditions being met, two communities in Cumbria will be the first in the country to be offered funding from the Rural Community Broadband Fund. This £20 million fund, financed jointly by DEFRA and Broadband Delivery UK, is delivering superfast broadband to the remotest communities which would otherwise receive a minimum standard broadband connection under the main rural broadband programme.

The FibreGarDen project will create a fibre optic network that connects every property in the isolated and sparsely populated upland rural communities of Garsdale and Dentdale in south east Cumbria.

The superfast broadband network, with initial speeds of 100 mbps, will have £157,500 in Government investment and will be built and operated by the community interest company (CIC), Fibre GarDen CIC. Once the build is complete, the ownership of the network will remain with the CIC, ensuring that it continues to serve the community's needs into the future.

The other community project to have been offered pre-contact agreement is Fell End, situated over seven miles from the nearest service centre, in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria. Subject to contractual agreements, the Government has agreed to provide £17,400 for this second project from the Rural Community Broadband Fund to connect 58 premises.

Tim said: "I really welcome David Heath's visit to Cumbria today to talk to farmers and local businesses about the local economy and what more both we and the Government can do to help. He is also here to talk to local businesses who recently received major funding from the Government. I am continuing to do all I can to support our local economy and create well paid jobs for our community.

"Recently we helped to secure investments for GlaxoSmithKline in Ulverston and Gilkes in Kendal which will create 800 jobs and safeguard hundreds of others. This bid will also help us to unlock extra funding from the private sector. However we can and must do even more and that is why I will continue to work to make the South Lakes Cumbria's economic hub."