A FORMER pub has been transformed as part of a huge project that has seen a former mining community build its own one-stop shop.

This week, years of hard work came to fruition as the Dene Valley Community Partnership opened the doors of what will become a central meeting place for people living in Eldon Lane and the surrounding villages. It has cost £311,551 to transform the Top House pub, in Eldon Lane, into a modern facility that includes an information technology suite, a caf, a kitchen and interview and meeting rooms. The facility has been funded through a range of sources, including the Community Fund, The Tudor Trust, One NorthEast, Wear Valley District Council and County Durham Foundation.

Dene Valley Community Partnership chairwoman Margaret Ingledew said she was proud of the new building, which was a much-needed facility for the former mining community.

She said: "We were in a two- up, two-down terraced house in Spencer Street and it just became too small because more and more people were using it.''

Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster opened the new building at a ceremony attended by local dignitaries and residents on Monday.

Mr Foster said: "This community has suffered greatly over the years and this is about people getting involved and renewing their own communities.

"This is a tremendous new facility and it means the community can move on with new confidence.''

Mrs Ingledew said the Top House pub had been closed for almost two years, but the partnership felt it was an ideal building for the partnership's purposes.

Already, the children's breakfast club has doubled in membership, with 35 children attending the centre to have breakfast before being taken to school on the community bus.

There are also library books and other community resources available for loan, and interest has been shown from various community groups which are looking forward to using the building as their permanent base.

Mrs Ingledew said: "I am totally in awe of it. It seems so long ago that we started planning this and now we are set up I cannot believe how fantastic it is.''