MILLIONS of pounds in funding from the Welsh Government towards the reopening of a historic Welsh-language hall at Aberystwyth University has been confirmed.

The Pantycelyn Project Board, set up in the wake of protests over plans to close the hall on Penglais hill and move Welsh-language students to the new multi-million-pound Penglais Farm development and at Penbryn, handed in its final report last year and recommended that £10,440,000 was spent on completely renovating the building, which have been dedicated Welsh-language halls since 1973 and were home to Prince Charles during his time as a student in Aberystwyth.

The plans, which were subject to securing £5m in funding from the Welsh Government, will now go ahead after Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan, confirmed the cash as she visited the halls of residence and viewed plans for the project.

As reported in the Cambrian News, the costs for the refurbishment of Pantycelyn, whose former residents include Prince Charles, First Minister Carwyn Jones and The One Show’s Alex Jones, soared to £12m from the original estimate of £10.4m.

The ambitious plans - which followed several large-scale student protests over several years amid several attempts by the university to close down the halls - will see 200 en-suite bedrooms with full catering provision and social spaces at the building.See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now