FAMILIES with young children in Weardale could be offered support through a £600,000 centre planned by the SureStart initiative.

The Weardale Children's Centre, based at the Barrington School, in Stanhope, would be one of the first of 30 due to open across County Durham over the next two years.

The centre would offer full day care provision for under fives, advice and information for parents, help with getting into work and training, outreach sessions for parents and carers, family support services and access to a childminder network.

SureStart works closely with health, employment and education services.

But some families say the centre is not needed because Weardale's nursery schools have spare places and fear the centre could threaten existing services.

Parents were invited to comment on the proposals at three public meetings hosted by SureStart in St John's Chapel, Stanhope and Wolsingham during the past week.

Stanhope Parish Council is objecting to SureStart's application for planning permission for the centre.

Chairman Harry Irwin said: "It is an utter waste of public money. There are empty spaces at nursery schools in the dale and a private nursery at Frosterley, which has the facilities and the qualified staff to do this.

"They have consulted people too late. If they had asked for views earlier they might have come up with a different answer.

"We are not against what SureStart are doing but the building itself is unnecessary."

Mother-of-two Janet Lonsdale, from Ireshopeburn, said: "All the schools round here are struggling.

"There are plenty of halls in the dale where these services can be provided. There are places in every village which are empty during the day and they could be used for some of the services."

Paula Rae, SureStart County Durham's capital project manager, said: "There have been positive comment as well as negative ones.

"This is not just about day care, it is about providing a wide range of services and about customer choice.

"We don't intend to put anybody else under threat. In fact we could go out to local providers."

The centre would be open from 8am until 6pm on weekdays and employ four carers and two administrative staff.

A partnership formed to guide the Children's Centre development is inviting families to a meeting tomorrow, at Stanhope Health Centre from 4pm until 5pm.