BUSINESSES in Tendring will be in for a share of a whopping £165million of European funding, it has been revealed.

Clacton, Brightlingsea and Harwich are hoping for a jobs boost after being named by the Government as a special employment area earlier this month.

The Area Assisted Status, which still has to be rubbed-stamped by the European Commission, is aimed at tackling high unemployment by providing funding for work schemes and giving tax breaks to businesses.

The final details of exactly what it means for the area will not become clear until later this summer.

But Tendring Council chief executive Ian Davidson said there was likely to be a cashpot of around £165million of European funding for areas in the south east to tap into if they can come up with the right schemes.

“You can only open the door if you have the key – and we have now got hold of it,” he said.

“We will hear more from the European Commissioners in July and once we have that information we will be able to give our businesses a clearer picture of what Assisted Area Status means for us.”

He said council officers would now be working hard behind the scenes to establish what opportunities will be open to businesses and how they can go about cashing in.