Cornwall was once renowned for its tin mining industry

Objective One has so far channelled nearly �200m from a �300m pot of European money into the county since 1999.

Now the European Commission has said the county will get further development funding until 2013 because it is still relatively poor and the sums will be similar to the amount of Objective One money.

So far, about 450 projects, from building works to transport links to increasing broadband internet access, have made use of Objective One cash.

Recent figures showed that the county's official measure of prosperity - known as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - was 60% of the European Union (EU) average, down from the 65% rating it had when first given Objective One status in 1999.

We have just started our work Carleen Kelemen, Objective One Partnership

This is well below the EU's trigger level of 75%.

Ronnie Hall, adviser to EU Regional Commissioner, said: "Given that it's more or less the same, the Cornwall region can expect a return somewhere in the region of the same amount as today."

Carleen Kelemen of the Objective One Partnership said it was good news for the county.

She said: "We have just started our work.

"The commission has recognised that the work of Objective One in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is one of the better performing and that it will take more than just one six-year programme to make the difference."

Match funding from government or private sources is required for all projects.

Cornwall, which was once renowned for tin mining, has suffered since the industry collapsed in the mid-1980s.