Government grants to help the south east’s rural businesses will be handed out by community groups from next year.

In a shake-up to existing funding, countryside communities in Berkshire are being asked to form local action groups to decide how money from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) will be spent.

£22 million will be available across the region in the next five years to support local tourism and help farmers diversify into new industries. But areas not setting up local action groups may miss out on their slice of the cake.

Andrew Bays of rural asset managers BCM said: “If farmers find that they are not in an area covered by a local action group, then the majority of grant aid available under SEEDA will not be available to them. “The principle that all areas would be eligible, in many ways, no longer applies.”