Wylfa nuclear power station is a major employer in the region

The Welsh Assembly Government says it wants to see an "economic hub" of industry and tourism for Anglesey and Gwynedd based around the Menai Strait.

An estimated 1,500 jobs will be lost in the area when Wylfa nuclear power station is decommissioned in 2010.

North Wales Conservative AM Brynle Williams welcomed the action plan but said: "It could do with being more."

Deputy Minister for Regeneration Leighton Andrews set out a programme for the area in partnership with the local authorities, educational institutions, private sector employers and the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency.

The M�n a Menai programme was developed in October 2006 in response to the employment implications of the decommissioning of Wylfa nuclear power station.

The plan aims to make the Menai Straits an 'economic hub'

Anglesey and Gwynedd councils have called for a 10-year regeneration strategy to offset the expected job losses from the closure of the ageing Magnox nuclear reactor, which is one of the biggest employers on the island.

The action plan will also look at the development of the waterfronts in Holyhead and Caernarfon as well as improvements to Bangor's city centre.

It also aims to expand north Wales' outdoor pursuits sector, currently worth around �140m a year, as well as work with Bangor University to turn research and development into commercial projects.

Mr Andrews said: "Important challenges to the north west Wales economy lie ahead.

'Migrating'

"We are focusing on specific projects which can make a difference to the overall economy of M�n a Menai."

Gwynedd Council leader Richard Parry-Hughes said: "We will be working with our partners to ensure the wealth created in the proposed economic hub is spread out to the rims and the outskirts of both M�n and Gwynedd, which will be the test of its success."

Anglesey [Ynys Mon] Council leader Gareth Winston Roberts said the action plan was an "first important step towards regeneration in the region" and must "get to grips with the task in hand and continue to work to attract new jobs to the island and wider area".

Mr Williams said the campaign to secure a replacement to Wylfa, a so-called Wylfa B, needed to be successful to avoid the "devastating effects on job prospects" for Anglesey of the power station's closure.

He said: "We need to stop our young people migrating from Anglesey. We need more investment on the north Wales coast right through."