A VILLAGE centre is being re-opened on Saturday by a new partnership aiming to make it the heart of community life.

The centre, at a former library in Front Street, West Auckland, opened last year to provide a drop-in and information point for residents.

But a shortage of volunteers and a failure to turn ideas into action meant the venture was only a limited success in its first year.

Now, the West Auckland Village Partnership, which has grown out of the village centre initiative, hopes to bring together local resources and forge a new community spirit.

It is launching the project with an open day on Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, to raise money for Christian Aid's Appeal for Fairer Trading.

Visitors will be invited to submit ideas for activities.

Organisers hope to get enough volunteers to open the centre on weekday mornings and make it a base for the Experience Corps volunteering initiative. The building could also host exhibitions, meetings and police and councillor surgeries.

Partnership secretary John Niven said: "The opening of the centre last summer proved that most people thought it was a good idea to have somewhere in the village where people could drop in for a chat or pick up information on local services, events and the history of the village.

"But it also showed we all have to work together if it is to be kept going."