ABERYSTWYTH University chiefs have backed a report recommending that the institution spends over £10m re-opening its historic Welsh-language hall of residence and bringing it into the 21st century.

The university’s council met on Wednesday and endorsed plans to reopen the halls.

The council said it intends to “proceed with the project” to provide refurbished Welsh-medium accommodation in Pantycelyn by September 2019.

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, handed in its final report last month and recommended that £10,440,000 is spent on completely renovating the building, which has been a dedicated Welsh-language halls since 1973 and was home to Prince Charles during his time as a student in Aberystwyth.

The plan, now adopted by university chiefs, will see 200 en-suite bedrooms, with full catering provision and social spaces.

The plan would, however, put Pantycelyn as the most expensive catered accommodation in the whole university, with the report estimating that the cost to students could rise to over £22 a night.

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