THE Mayor of Darlington performed the honours at the opening of a £1.4m community centre yesterday.

Councillor Roderick Francis cut the ribbon outside Maidendale House in Firthmoor - a facility he campaigned to have built as a resident of the estate.

Members of Firthmoor Community Association came up with the idea for a new centre four years ago, in an effort to regenerate the estate.

Coun Francis said he felt immensely proud to see the centre finally open.

"It's a great feeling, really, to see what we have achieved. We got together and set ourselves aims.

"One of the main aims was to get rid of the stigma attached to Firthmoor, and I think we have done that."

Children from Firthmoor Primary School, which was rehoused in a £2m building last year, performed a rap about the estate at the opening.

There was also an exhibition outlining all of the regeneration projects on Firthmoor.

Bill Cook, chairman of Firthmoor Community Partnership Board, told residents: "Firthmoor has changed so much. It has been turned around.

"Opening this centre is the icing on the cake. We have a new school, all the houses are being refurbished, a warden service, CCTV - we have got the lot. People of Firthmoor be proud of what you have got."

The centre has been funded by grants from One NorthEast, the European Regional Development Fund, the New Opportunities Fund, the Community Fund, the Northern Rock Foundation and Firthmoor Community Association.

It houses a nursery, an information technology suite, a youth centre, a credit union, an into-work scheme, a healthy living centre and housing office.