A £600,000 FUNDING pot will be used to support businesses and boost the economy as East Lothian recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

The money, from East Lothian Council, also aims to be a shot in the arm for the county’s tourism and hospitality sectors and its town centres.

Michaela Sullivan, the council’s head of service development, welcomed the funding, saying: “It’s an important part of our essential, ongoing work to support businesses as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This support funding has been designed to meet the needs of existing industry, pave the way for new job creation and to ensure our workforce is ready with the right skills.

“It also looks at how we build on East Lothian as a destination and allows us to target key markets to grow our short and longer-term tourism industry.”

The largest sum of money – £184,000 – will be used to support the tourism and hospitality sector, including a grant scheme to support projects; support for marketing and the Visit East Lothian website and funding of a project to study and manage the movements of visitors to East Lothian’s coast.

A further £160,000 will go towards supporting businesses, safeguarding employment and encouraging growth, including £20,000 grants to support job creation and the buying-in of expert support for business growth.

There is funding of £130,000 for town centre recovery and renewal, including a potential expansion of the East Lothian Gift Card scheme; targeted funding for traders’ groups and projects and the potential expansion of a digital high street project to give traders a greater online presence, with a further £103,500 to support the rural economy, including a food festival, funding to promote digital connectivity and support to re-open rural toilet facilities.

Finally, £12,500 will be used to support employability, including a careers event and vocational hospitality training, and £10,000 to support Love East Lothian messaging, including a potential newsletter to all East Lothian residents to promote local businesses with support from an online campaign.