DEVON'S bid to win £180 million of vital Government and European funding to help the county recover from the impact of foot and mouth is set to be launched at a major conference at County Hall today.
Up to 150 organisations represented at 'The Next Steps' event will be asked to sign a pledge committing their support to the Devon Foot and Mouth Recovery Plan, the keynote document developed by Devon County Council in partnership with other agencies, which details the county's case for recovery aid and what the funding will be used for.
The conference will be addressed by speakers from the Government's new Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, South West Tourism, the South West Regional Development Agency and the National Farmers' Union as well as the county council.
Underlining the all-political support for the recovery plan, the event will be attended by the leaders of all four political groups on the county council.
Delegates will hear responses from organisations and communities throughout Devon who were consulted about the draft recovery plan.
The plan is set against a backdrop of new research commissioned by the county council which indicates foot and mouth could punch a £470 million hole in the Devon economy this year and lead to the loss of nearly 13,000 jobs, 11,000 in tourism.
The document not only sets out a strategy for tackling the current crisis but, significantly, seeks to establish a sustainable vision for farming and the countryside.
Its ten points call for: marketing, finance for business, business advice, health and welfare support, training, regeneration of communities, environmental impact, a development programme for agriculture and a vision for Devon agriculture through to the year 2020 and access to the countryside.
Devon County Council's head of economic development Miles Butler said: 'Devon has been harder hit by the consequences of the foot and mouth outbreak than almost any other area of the country.
'Faced with this severe threat to the county's economy, the council, in partnership with other agencies, has been driving ahead with the development of the Devon Foot and Mouth Recovery Plan and seeking a wide range of views on its final content.'
He said no single agency could tackle the challenges posed by foot and mouth to the Devon economy and that was why everyone needed to be working together.
'We will be seeking the endorsement of all those organisations attending the conference,' he said.
'It is important Devon is able to go to Government and other agencies with a carefully thought out and costed recovery programme.
'It is also vital that when, following on from the conference, we launch the Devon Recovery Plan lobbying campaign we do so with a strong mandate from the whole county.'