JOB-BOOSTING projects in Keighley will share in a £500,000 business rates windfall.

The cash has been won by the organisation spearheading economic growth in the most deprived areas of Keighley and Bradford.

It will be spent on projects to improve employment opportunities in Keighley Central, East and West wards along with Great Horton, Manningham and City wards in Bradford.

Leeds City Region Partnership Business Rates Pool this week agreed to give the cash to the Keighley and Bradford Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme.

The Business Rates money forms part of a £4.8 million CLLD scheme announced last year for Keighley.

The programme helps fund tailored business support with training and small grants, promotion of entrepreneurship and self-employment, employability skills training, and help for people to plan career pathways.

Keighley CLLD will also run tailored business support with training, advice, mentoring and coaching sessions for local entrepreneurs.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said the Business Rates funding would help build on Keighley’s potential.

She said: “We know Keighley has a great business community with a strong manufacturing base. Anyone who has been to the Keighley Business Awards knows that enterprise is alive and well in Keighley. This funding helps us build on this potential.”

David Gagen, programme manager for Keighley CLLD, said: “This will make the programme much more accessible by reducing the amount of match funding required from potential applicants.”

At the launch, Keighley CLLD announced £2.4 million from European Structural Investment Funds, which had to be match-funded from a variety of other sources.

Bids were invited from organisations to deliver the 12 projects that formed part of the venture, all designed to stimulate economic growth and jobs while helping to regenerate some of Keighley’s most deprived areas.

Bradford Council said the latest Business Rates Pool provided a significant contribution to the funding required to deliver the district’s two Community Led Local Development Programmes.

The £500,000 award will match-fund European Structural and Investment Fund monies secured for the programmes based in Keighley and Bradford, which will have a combined value of £11m.

Delivered over the next four years, these programmes aim to increase employment and skills and social enterprise and ensure that local people are involved in developing projects, using resources in their areas to address local challenges.

The council is acting as Accountable Body, working with lead delivery partners Airedale Enterprise, Action for Business Ltd and CNet in Bradford.

During last year’s launch, Airedale Enterprise said: “It’s a bottom-up approach targeting local areas of greatest need, and it’s about finding innovative ways to address local challenges and opportunities.

“We’re really excited about the programme, which will run for four years. We want it to be locally led, and our aim is that by 2022 the area covered by the CLLD will be an enterprising, aspirational and positive place.”

Visit keighleyclld.org.uk for more details.