A COMMUNITY centre that fulfilled a 50-year-old dream for residents is hoping to expand.

The Jubilee Fields Community Centre in Shildon, has been given a grant of almost £5,000 which will pay for a feasibility study on the building.

Manager Ephraim Bunting said that the centre is running to capacity and extra function rooms are needed.

The £4,642 grant from the Community Development Fund pay to explore the idea of putting a second floor above the sports hall to incorporate more storage space and meeting rooms.

Mr Bunting said: "We need to see if it is possible to put another floor above the sports hall so that we will have an upstairs and downstairs.

"We are doing it because we need more space.

"It will take a couple of months for the feasibility study to be done and we are going to start it just after the Easter holidays.

"After the study is completed we will then start looking for funding to do the work." The community centre is mainly run by volunteers, who fought a seven year battle to build it.

It was a dream harboured by residents to have their own centre since the Jubilee Estate was built in Shildon more than 50 years ago.

They launched a campaign that raised £600,000, the majority of which came from a £450,000 lottery grant.

Since it opened in 2001, it has become the heart of the community and is so well-used it has even gained praise from the Heritage Lottery Fund which use it as a flagship to show people how to make a successful bid for funding.

It is used for birthday parties, christenings and local youngsters often use it as a meeting place. It is also used by various clubs and community groups and as a base for adult learning classes.

Mr Bunting said: "The fact we want to expand proves that the initial hard work some years ago was worthwhile."