WORK is due to start on a £1.9m sports centre on Teesside following archaeological excavations.

The centre, on The Headland, in Hartlepool, will feature a sports hall, badminton courts, a fitness room and a creche.

Building work at the site, on empty land behind the Borough Hall, in Middlegate, will start in February.

The North Hartlepool Partnership, which is using money from regional development agency One NorthEast to revitalise the Headland, has given £400,000 towards the project and Hartlepool Borough Council has given another £492,000.

Other funding has come from the Active England arm of Sport England (£530,000), the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (£412,500), and the last piece in the funding jigsaw has come in the shape of £122,500 from the European Regional Development Fund.

Stuart Drummond, the Mayor of Hartlepool, said: "So many people put an awful lot of hard work into securing the necessary funding, especially since the closure of the Friarage sports hall, and these brand new facilities will be a tribute to that tremendous team effort."

Archaeologists have recently completed excavation work on the site, which was at the heart of medieval Hartlepool.

Robin Daniels, officer at Tees Archaeology, said traces of houses dating back to the 14th Century were found. He said: "We expected to find some evidence of the medieval town there, but of particular importance were the terraces used on what was a very steep sloping side. It was useful to know what techniques were used to build houses there.

"We also found artefacts from the period, including pottery. It was of interest to us locally, but was not of national interest."

Mr Daniels said a report to Hartlepool Borough Council would not recommend delaying the works.