BOSSES at Cannon Hall Farm are bidding for Government cash to help meet the cost of a multi-million pound expansion plan.

And it could bring an extra 150 jobs to the Cawthorne tourist hotspot.

Farm director Robert Nicholson led a delegation to London to discuss the Regional Growth Fund at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

The farm has embarked on the first phase of a £5.5m project to build a new farm complex, indoor play area and educational facilities and is hoping to land RGF cash to help meet the cost.

It is hoped the ambitious project will result in doubling the existing 150-strong workforce and give the region a nationally-recognised, year-round tourist attraction.

Work on new farm buildings is now under way as part of the first phase, costing £2.2m.

If its bid is approved and targets are met, Cannon Hall Farm will receive £500,000 under the RGF to cover 25% of those first phase costs.

The farm will then hope to generate enough revenue to allow it to carry out phase two of its plans.

Mr Nicholson said plans for the farm included a new milking parlour with a raised gallery for visitors and gantries for people to view live lambing events.

But he said work on the new farm buildings would have to be mothballed if the funding bid failed.

“As things stand, we can carry on building for just a few more weeks unless a positive decision is made,” he said.

“It would be such a shame to stop because we know what a great impact this will have on our business.”

Cannon Hall Farm, near Cawthorne, is hugely popular with Huddersfield families and draws visitors from across West and South Yorkshire.

Mr Nicholson, who was accompanied by daughter Katie during the meeting with Mr Clegg, said: “It was a great opportunity to meet the Deputy Prime Minister and explain in person to him just what a difference the fund would make to our project.

“He is acutely aware that our area has been hard hit by the loss of public sector jobs and he has promised to take a personal interest in the project.”

Part of the Regional Growth Fund is being administered by the Royal Bank of Scotland and Cannon Hall Farm’s application is currently with them.

The aim of the fund is to help areas and communities which were dependent on the public sector to make the transition to sustainable, private sector-led growth and prosperity.

The farm is gearing up for the annual Pumpkin Festival that starts tomorrow and runs until November 4.

The event, which sees visitors given a pumpkin to design their own lantern, was named Best Tourism Experience in the 2011 White Rose Awards.

This year’s event culminates in judging for the National Farm Attraction of the Year competition where the farm has reached the final three.