A FURTHER #36m was yesterday pledged towards the regeneration of one

of Scotland's areas of high unemployment.

The pledge was made at the relaunch of the Cumnock and Doon Valley

initiative, a partnership between public and private enterprise which,

in four-and-a-half years, has spent #62m, created over 500 jobs, and

visibly improved the environment and the infrastructure of the former

mining area in Ayrshire.

Launching the second phase of the initiative until local government

reorganisation in 1996 Mr Tom Farmer, on behalf of Scottish Enterprise,

said: ''The original initiative was a vision of a better future written

in a very bleak time.''

He predicted further progress and a growth in job opportunities, as

well as a better quality of life in Cumnock and Doon Valley.

The ceremony took place in a newly completed factory on the Cumnock

business park.

The leader of the district council, Councillor David Sneller, said:

''We hope that new jobs will come with this new money, and job creation

is a major target over the next two-and-a-half years.''

The Cumnock and Doon Valley Initiative was set up by 10 founding

partners, the district and regional councils, Enterprise Ayrshire,

Cumnock and Doon Enterprise Trust, British Coal Enterprise Ltd, British

Coal Opencast, Scottish Homes, the Ayr College, and two large local

employers, the Stanley Group and Kingsmead Carpets.