A FORMER colliery community is making use of a new centre housing a range of services and facilities.

Local and Regional Government Minister Nick Raynsford yesterday opened the £3.2m multi-purpose Hetton Centre.

Serving the people of Hetton-le-Hole and its neighbouring villages on the Sunderland side of the county boundary with Durham, it is described as, a "one-stop public service centre".

It incorporates everything from a community library and information service to a community police base and an electronic village hall.

Other services on offer include youth and sport facilities, doctors' surgeries, housing and welfare rights offices, and a job-finding service.

Since the first facilities went into use last year, the Hetton Centre has already proved a big success story, with thousands of visitors passing through its doors.

The library service alone is testimony to its popularity, with membership up 100 per cent since the move to the Hetton Centre.

It has also played a part in a 15 per cent fall in juvenile crime, which has been put down to the pro-active work of the centre's youth and community policing teams, who have been working with young people in the area.

Visitors to the centre are able to take advantage of a wide range of integrated services on offer.

A visitor to the job-link facility may also be offered advice about welfare rights or housing, as well as receiving information about how to improve their prospects of finding full-time employment with education and training.

The Hetton Centre is the first of six such developments planned across the Sunderland City Council area, under the authority's Peoplefirst programme.

Mr Raynsford said: "It is a very impressive centre, bringing together a large range of facilities.

"This must be seen as a way forward for good local government."

The minister said such initiatives reflected why Sunderland achieved an "excellent" rating in the local government rankings.

Council leader Councillor Bob Symonds said: "We are delighted Mr Raynsford chose to visit and agreed to open the Hetton centre. It is proving a real asset to the community it serves."

An upgrade is also planned for the nearby swimming pool and sports centre.