UP TO 2,000 jobs could be created as Dorset aims to tap into a £38 million fund to support coastal economic development.

Members of Dorset County Council’s cabinet were updated on the latest stage of a bid for a slice of the funding, which has been made available by the Government.

The Coastal Communities Fund was set up four years ago to help support coastal areas across the UK – it has so far granted £125 million to projects nationwide and the latest round of funding has made a further £38.1 million available.

Councillors were told that the county council and the Dorset Coast Forum have been working on a bid, which was successful at the first stage and now will go forward to a second stage, for around £5 million from the fund.

With match funding already in place from a range of partners, the money would unlock around £12 million of investment for 18 different projects stretching along the county’s coastline from Lyme Regis in the west to Christchurch in the east.

The projects, which are set to be completed by December 2019 if the bid is successful, include the creation of an arts trail in Lyme Regis connecting the Lyme town mill and Uplyme, a visitor hub and cycle access for West Bay as well as improved beach access, a lighting scheme for Weymouth seafront from Greenhill down to the Pavilion peninsula and community art installations relating to litter on the county’s beaches.

Other schemes include improving access to the coast path in rural locations and improving wifi access at gateway sites along the coast as well as developing the iCoast website, which currently promotes 26 different activities and 350 businesses operating on the Coast.

The council’s environmental advice team leader Dr Ken Buchan said: “The Dorset Coastal Connections – People and Places project presents an opportunity to generate significant benefits for both residents and visitors. As a programme of projects spanning the full extent of Dorset’s coast, many communities will benefit from the proposed improvements to coastal access and public realm infrastructure.”

The council’s cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and highways Cllr Peter Finney said the funding would offer a “lifeline” to coastal communities in the county.

He said: “It has the potential to open up the coastal communities and is an opportunity for them to create perhaps up to 2,000 jobs.”

“It’s a lifeline really for the communities on the shore.

“It will help Dorset move forward.”

Council leader Cllr Robert Gould added: “It sounds extremely encouraging, obviously tapping into our record of delivering a number of projects over the years.”

“It’s to be welcomed that we are now attracting this significant inward investment and are working with a whole range of partners to move this project forward across coastal areas.”