FARINGDON is one of nine towns in the country to be granted beacon status, under a new Countryside Agency initiative.

At a time when small towns are struggling economically, the beacon towns have been chosen as successful examples of how to breathe life back into local communities.

In Faringdon's case, a scheme has been launched to support small business ventures. The enterprise gateway will provide business advice both for start-up businesses and already established firms looking to expand.

The scheme is likely to become a model for similar business support schemes in other rural areas.

Each of the nine towns, which were chosen from a field of 200, has been chosen to demonstrate how to tackle a particular issue or range of issues, such as affordable broadband internet services, encouraging sustainable tourism, local food production and the role of the private sector in market town regeneration.

President of the Faringdon Chamber of Commerce, Robert Dyer, explained that the enterprise gateway had been set up after an independent health check on the state of the town revealed that new businesses needed help.

"The report identified that the average household earning in the town was 25 per cent less than the rest of Oxfordshire and that we had fewer jobs," he said.

"We have decided to address this important issue by setting up a proper support network for new businesses, run by people with local knowledge."

Richard Wakeford, Countryside Agency chief executive, said: "Demonstrating ways to tackle the problems rural communities face and learning from and sharing the results are the core of the Countryside Agency's work.

"These beacon towns will act as test beds and provide opportunities to try different approaches to problem solving and new ways of doing things.

"The first group of beacon towns have been selected because they are excellent examples of towns in which interesting developmental work is happening.

The eight other beacon towns are: Hexham in Northumberland, Barnard Castle with Middleton-in-Teesdale, Durham, Whitby, Richmond in North Yorkshire, Belper, Derbyshire, Wolverton in Milton Keynes and Bridport, Dorset.

The Beacon Towns scheme was launched following the publication of the Rural White Paper 2000, which recognised the critical role that market towns play in rural life. The Countryside Agency was asked to develop and promote good practice. More beacon towns will be announced later this year.