A VALLEYS town that was at the cente of the industrial revolution could become the "heart of a technological revoluntion" if plans for a multi-million pound IT centre get the go-ahead.

Blaenavon's Victoria House is tipped to become a home for computer services from public sectors aross Gwent.

The plan would see IT facilities from local authorities, further education colleges and Gwent Police rehoused under one state-of-the-art centre.

The Assembly is pumping £1.8 million into the scheme to create the shared resource centre, with additional funding from Gwent Police of £225,000, Torfaen Council of £150,000.

Another grant of up to £1 million from the Assembly could also be a possibility in the future, taking the total investment to over £3 million.

Around 50 staff would be based at the centre and a council spokeswoman said although no new jobs will be created to start with, opportunities for new jobs could be created in the future.

The move will allow organisations using the centre to cut costs but it is not known how much money will be saved.

It is hoped the centre, which will have security measures including perimeter fencing, site alarms and CCTV installed.

The proposal comes as the council need to relocate their staff and computer facilities from County Hall while Gwent Police also need to relocate their computer room from their headquarters in Croesyceiliog as the old centres are outdated.

In a report to the cabinet to be discussed on Tuesday, manager of enabling and building tomorrow’s Torfaen, Farooq Dastgir said: “This will assist in changing Blaenavon from a region at the heart of industrial revolution in the past to a region at the heart of a technology revolution in South East Wales in the future.”

If councillors back the proposal, the centre could be up and running by March 2010.