WEST Somerset District Council is forging closer links with North Devon in a bid to attract European funding for Exmoor - even though a similar move two years ago attracted fierce opposition and forced a council U-turn.

Plans to form a North Devon and Exmoor Regeneration Company were approved with barely a hint of discussion at Monday's meeting of the district council's cabinet.

A report to the committee revealed "detailed discussions" had been ongoing with North Devon and Torridge district councils for "a period of months".

The new company will be responsible for supporting initiatives that help to regenerate the rural economy, such as agricultural diversification and tourism.

It will also provide support for enterprise and innovation and try to increase the skills of individuals and businesses to boost regeneration opportunities.

Two years ago, councillors were forced into an embarrassing climb-down over plans to merge the marketing and development of the region's tourism industry with North Devon.

At that time, councillors in favour of the tourism merger had argued that joining forces with their colleagues across the county border was the only way to attract significant European funding.

And although the new North Devon and Exmoor Regeneration Company has not been set up to specifically market the tourism industry, its sole purpose is to attract European funding and "tourism activity" is one of its key "strategic objectives".

When the original merger was mooted at the end of 2000, council leader Steven Pugsley said any prospective tourism merger with North Devon would have to be put off until 2002 due to the uncertainty over which district was likely to be allocated European funding.

This week, councillors were told that, although a large part of West Somerset had been earmarked for European Objective 2 aid, the district had still had problems progressing schemes due to the size of the area.

Members were advised that the best way forward would be to join with North Devon to "provide a vehicle to secure European funding".

The report to Monday's meeting from Bruce Lang, the council's chief regeneration and development officer, said: "Due to economies of scale, it has proved difficult to move forward with projects working on a purely West Somerset basis as the funding regime encourages an integrated approach to economic regeneration across the programme area which, interalia, covers the majority of rural Devon.

"North Devon and Torridge district councils were in the process of establishing a regeneration company and approached the council on the possibility of such a company also covering West Somerset and thereby providing a vehicle to secure European funding."

Despite the apparent difficulties facing the district, the council has managed to pay for two European funding posts by working with Exmoor National Park Authority and Somerset County Council.

Those advisers will still be employed by West Somerset District Council and work primarily for the interests of the district. However, they will also now be expected to work on "cross-county boundary projects".

The district council will also have to find £9,000 to cover its share of the operating costs of the new company, after signing-up on an "experimental" basis for three years.

Mr Lang conceded more money would probably be requested during the next two years, but said joining the company would enable West Somerset to build bridges with North Devon.

He said the company had already attracted widespread praise from the Government Office of the South West, which had heralded it as "a model of good practice of partners proactively attempting to deliver an integrated approach to regeneration".

The council's economic portfolio holder, Cllr Keith Ross, stressed the idea for the company had come from the Devon authorities and added: "It has got to be of benefit to us."

Cllr Peter Humber added: "I hope our friends in the tourism industry will now go along this common sense route.

"Our interests are really in the North Devon area and this partnership working will help us to survive."

Harry Crawford, chairman of the Exmoor Tourist Association, which led the fight against the tourism merger two years ago, said he was not aware of any discussions concerning the creation of a North Devon and Exmoor Regeneration Company.

He said he hoped to be able to comment further once he had read the council's report and spoken to other members of the association about it.