EXTRA money could be coming to Worcestershire - with parts of the county included on a list of areas which are expected to be eligible for European aid.

The Government has re-leased a map of parts of the UK where it wants new businesses to launch, or existing ones to get EU backed funds to grow.

Rather than focusing on city or town centres, it is designed to help rural patches of the country which have low economic activity due to their sparseness.

In Worcestershire, Fernill Heath, Hampton Lovett and Cutnall Green, a trio of villages, are all listed as well as north Claines on the outskirts of Worcester.

European regional aid packages aim to inject fresh activity into an area by offering businesses extra support to grow and thrive.

The map is a draft one at the moment, and a consultation runs until early February which aims to get views on it.

Peter Luff, MP for Mid-Worcestershire, said: “I am delighted that the Lovett and North Claines areas have been included on the draft map of assisted areas.

“The identification by the Government as an area where businesses are looking to invest in new premises or machinery should bring real benefits to our local economy.

“This is a draft map though and it is now subject to a consultation.

“I encourage local people to contribute to this consultation to show just how big the benefits would be locally if businesses around these areas are eligible for this aid.”

The consultation runs until Friday, February 7 and can be found at: gov.uk/government/consultations/assisted-areas-map-2014-to-2010-stage-2.

A final map will then be submitted to the European Commission for approval in March.

If accepted, plans will then be drawn up for publicising how employers or prospective firms can bid for grants.

The project has come about because of concerns that parts of the UK, for example London, are sucking up investment at the expense of other areas.