ROSS-ON-WYE is to have £1 million to help make the town more competitive and to attract more visitors.

Half the money will come from Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency, and the rest from local matched funding.

The cash will be spent on a range of projects over the next three years and a programme of work will be agreed in the next few weeks.

Initiatives are likely to include better transport and communications, job creation, skills and learning as well as community projects.

Other parts of Herefordshire are already receiving £600,000 from the West Midlands Regional Development Agency.

Advantage West Midlands earmarked the money last year to help creative-based industries such as advertising, fine arts, antiques, crafts, design, fashion and film, a sector with a large number of sole traders or very small businesses employing only a few people. They are also often isolated and one of the ways in which help will be given is through a programme of on-line learning and site visits.

Advantage West Midlands said it had already helped such enterprises by putting in place business support and helping set up local film and craft festivals.

The allocation was part of a fund to continue support for Herefordshire and other rural communities.

Plans to support business growth in rural areas, improve skills and learning and support the regeneration of communities with special needs has been outlined in a "Rural Renaissance" document.

The agency said that the region had a high level of business start-ups but had a high dependency on traditional rural industries and large employers.