AN action plan which aims to give North Yorkshire's rural economy a boost is to go before the county council's executive next week.

The plan, called The New Rural Economy in North Yorkshire, is the result of a study - jointly funded by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, the Government Office for Yorkshire, and the council - carried out by consultants SQW.

In a report to the executive, which meets on January 11, corporate director Gordon Gresty says: "The aim of the study was to identify opportunities to promote and develop the rural economy."

He said that two key areas were to be targeted - food and farming, and leisure and creativity.

Farm diversification, outdoor adventure, exploiting the heritage landscape, festivals and events are among the potential opportunities to generate more income for North Yorkshire and provide new investment.

The consultants said it was vital to strengthen North Yorkshire's economy by making the county more independent which will create new employment and opportunities. A total of £1m is being earmarked to aid the project, councillors will be told.

The report said more could be done to add value to the food produced in North Yorkshire, and it is proposed to appoint a project officer to drive new ideas.

Helping local food producing businesses to market through development of ICT and broadband, and increasing spending by tourists to the county were also highlighted.

Capitalising on North Yorkshire's wealth of outdoor adventure opportunities could attract more tourists and a major festivals programme is planned to be launched next year.