It is hoped the project will attract new business to the area

And Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has promised to move swiftly to spend �1.3m, newly granted under the European Regional Development Fund.

The Objective One fund, will help fund the Porth Plaza regeneration project to bring incubator units for new businesses, a cr�che, a training centre.

There are also plans for a modern 'learning cafe' which will adopt the look and feel of the Pop Factory, Porth's well-known multi media centre.

Council Chief Executive Kim Ryley said that the project, to be built on the site of the closed Pioneer supermarket, would be open in the summer of 2004, and be fully operational by December 2004.

The council is also investing �1m in the scheme and the Welsh Development Agency a further �783,000 to give a total project cost of just over �3m.

This new development will be a state-of the art 21st century learning and business support facility RCT Chief Executive Kim Ryley

The former Pioneer store was purchased by Rhondda Cynon Taff Council some time ago to secure the site for public use and to provide a key component in wider plans for the regeneration of Porth town centre, the gateway to the Rhondda Fach and Fawr valleys.

"Now that we have funding approval, we will release the demolition contract as quickly as possible and hope to have the contractors on site within weeks, Mr Ryley promised.

"This new development will be a state-of the art 21st century learning and business support facility.

The council and the Welsh Development Agency are providing the premises which will bring young people into a new learning environment."

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is aimed at reducing regional imbalances and assisting disadvantaged regions, particularly run-down areas facing restructuring problems and industrial decline.

'Back in queue'

Many parts of Wales are eligible for European funding because these areas are amongst the poorest parts of Europe.

However, with the expansion of the European Union to take in many poorer countries in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Wales may find itself further back in the queue for such funding in the future.

Commenting on the go-ahead for the development, Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said:" I am delighted for Porth. This will help make it more attractive to shoppers and aid in regeneration of the area.

"This type of funding, involving the training and retraining of youngsters gives hope for the future and helps the area to move away from depending on subsidy It is, in fact, giving people a rod to fish rather than just the fish itself."

So far the Welsh Assembly Government and the Wales European Funding Office, say they have allocated or "committed" over �1bn to various projects under Objective 1, 2 and 3 funding with �206.5 million being spent on Objective One initiatives such as the Porth Plaza regeneration project.

According to Andrew Davies, Assembly Economic Development Minister, the figure of jobs created under Objective One initiatives by 20 January, 2003, was 6,000 jobs created and another 7,000 safeguarded.

Objective One funding has a priority of promoting the development and structural adjustment of regions whose economic development is lagging behind.

Objective Two's priority is to help areas hardest hit by industrial decline and Objective Three works to combat long-term unemployment, particularly among young people and those at risk from exclusion from the workforce.