ESTATE residents have issued a plea to business people to help them in their quest to improve their meeting place.

From the outside, Woodhouse Close Community Centre looks almost derelict, with boarded up windows and graffiti.

But what is fast becoming an eyesore on the Bishop Auckland estate is a cosy meeting place for the elderly and disabled.

Despite the fact that the building, in Proudfoot Drive, is a constant target for vandals, those who regularly attend the centre say they would not swap it for anywhere else.

Doreen Kett, who is a member of Woodhouse Close Residents' Association, said: "The people love this place. There is someone in here every day and it is often full.

"It is very well used, especially by the elderly and the disabled.''

Mrs Kett is among those trying to improve the building and hopes members of the business community will show their support for the centre.

She said: "The centre is owned by Wear Valley District Council, but they do not have the money to keep replacing the windows and redecorate.''

She hopes that the window frames can eventually be replaced with tough plastic ones and the building given a coat of paint. New carpets are also needed.

She said: "We have had an offer from one carpet company who have said they will go halves with us on a new carpet, and I have painted the office area myself. But what we could do with is a few volunteers to help us."

June Lee, Wear Valley district councillor for the Woodhouse Close Estate, said: "It would be a real shame if it was left to go derelict. The council replaced the windows not so long ago, but they have been broken again.

"I have already spoken to someone about putting a package together to go for funding, but that is still in the early stages.

"People do not realise how well the centre is used. We need to get the people of the community to work together and get behind this.