MORE than £1 million is being granted to help put the heart back into a former mining village.

The Llanhilleth Area Regeneration Scheme has been awarded a grant of £1,103,164 to convert the Colliery Workingmen's Institute into a community facility.

It is a part of a £10 million scheme that includes building a new primary school and improving road links to open up the village in an area still hard hit by the aftermath of massive job losses in the mining industry.

Assembly economic development minister Andrew Davies announced the new money on a visit to Newport to look at other schemes that have benefited from EU funds.

The Objective One boost will benefit Llanhilleth by turning the Grade II listed institute into a multi-purpose centre.

The new facility will provide: a centre for life-long learning; spaces for community groups; a cyber caf; a healthy living centre; an all-weather recreation area and changing rooms.

Mr Davies said: "Llanhilleth is setting the standard for community regeneration throughout the valleys and across Wales as a whole. The Assembly administration has made a significant investment and I am sure that the new facilities will be the envy of neighbouring communities." Local councillors Den Hughes, Hedley McCarthy and Jim McIlwee have all lobbied hard to bring more investment into Llanhilleth.

Councillor Hughes said: "Converting the workingmen's institute will be the centre of all the other regeneration. It will be a first-class community centre which was the vision of the founding fathers."

Delighted resident Lyn Maloney said the investment was what the community needed.

He said: "There's no youth clubs in the area and the one thing the youngsters have been lacking is the premises and this is the answer to that."

Phase one of the £10 million scheme to regenerate Llanhilleth began last year, to improve the direct access to the village and the Llanhilleth industrial estate from the A467.

The second stage, to build a new primary school to replace the present Ty'r Graig and Brynhyfryd primaries, is also well under way.

The school will have three classes for infants, six for juniors, reception, nursery and creche and will open in September.Improvements to the village square are being made as well as a bridge over the railway and links to the Ebbw Valley railway when it re-opens. A new pavilion and members' club, and new business units to regenerate the area, have already been built.