Bold moves needed to help N.Wales; DAILY POST YOUR VOICE IN WALES.

THE call for an extra pounds 100m to be pumped into the Welsh economy to ensure the "green shoots of recovery" will not be nipped in the bud by a return of recessionary frost is a timely one.

Unemployment across Wales has resumed its ominous upward climb and politicians and business leaders are right when they caution that we're not out of the woods just yet.

A pertinent question is to ask where that extra money might be spent if Gordon Brown is minded to hand it over.

The fiscal stimulus applied so far has meant that the Welsh Assembly Government has been able to bring forward some capital expenditure projects and invest in schemes such as ProAct aimed at protecting threatened jobs.

So far, so good. It's brought a measure of support to the North Wales economy - although on the Assembly Government's own figures the take-up of ProAct in north west Wales to date has been low.

The economy of Anglesey is in a parlous condition. Hundreds of jobs are being lost at one of its biggest employers, Anglesey Aluminium, at the end of the month and Wylfa nuclear power station is due to stop generating electricity at the end of next year.

Modestly funded scheme will not of themselves be sufficient to head off the impending loss of many well-paid, skilled jobs.

A clear case can be made for investing a huge chunk of that pounds 100m on Anglesey, on training and other initiatives to help those being thrown out of work, and on incentives to bring new employers to the area. Space on new business parks already exists for them. Perhaps there are vital infrastructure projects of long term benefit that could also begin.

The Mn a Menai regeneration initiative is already being rolled out. Is there an argument for devoting extra funds to that? A package worth pounds 48m had been readied to try to keep the aluminium smelter in production but was rejected by that company.

Why not divert that sum, and add more from Westminster, to ensure that Anglesey doesn't remain one of the poorest regions in Europe? It's a time for bold political vision and big ideas, not a timid tinkering at the margins.