WEST Dorset District Council has pledged £5,500 a year to support the Southern Dorset Local Action Group.

The council also announced they will give another £2,450 every year from 2015 to 2020 to support the Northern Dorset Local Action Group.

Both groups are part of the LEADER economic investment programme, which targets, delivers and manages economic investment through Local Action Groups.

The move follows a previous announcement by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to pay £1,700 per year to the South Dorset Local Action Group as part of the programme.

WDDC’s contribution will go towards administration costs to ensure funding from the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development can be spent on projects to ‘increase local prosperity’.

A spokesperson for West Dorset District Council said they will be contributing more to the group than the borough council as their local authority area contains a ‘bigger eligible population’.

Robert Gould, leader of West Dorset District Council, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to support this programme which will play a vital role in boosting West Dorset’s economy.

“We are very keen to do what we can to support businesses and those that generate wealth locally. This is why we decided to invest in the LEADER programme, even though we are facing tough financial challenges.”

DEFRA, which will deliver the funds to Local Action Groups on behalf of the European Agriculture Fund, should confirm at the end of November how much funding will be available.

It is expected to be around £3.4m, to be split across South Dorset – covering Portland, Purbeck, the rural outskirts of Weymouth – West Dorset, and North Dorset.

Prior to the creation of the local action groups, an organisation known as Chalk and Cheese awarded grants worth £1.66m from 2007 to 2013 across West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland, and Purbeck.