A centre aimed at giving Washington children a good start in life is being built at a cost of £850,000.

The building, opposite the site of the demolished Stile Inn in Concord, once the haunt of drug dealers, will be the base for two Government initiatives - Sure Start and On Track.

Under Sure Start, trained staff work with families to promote pre-school children's physical, intellectual and social development so that they thrive when they start school.

The £2.25m initiative includes a healthy families programme, offering help to the parents of children with special needs, and access to quality play, learning and childcare.

It also links with Wearside Women in Need, which aims to prevent domestic violence, and promotes positive images of fatherhood.

Sure Start will continue to operate from other sites in the North Washington area - Usworth Colliery Nursery School, the Bridge Support Centre, in Sulgrave, and the Albany Family Centre - but Concord will be the main base.

North Washington is one of 24 areas nationally to be chosen for On Track, a seven-year programme that aims to help vulnerable four to 12-year-olds and their families.

As part of the Government's crime reduction programme, it provides services to children who are at risk of offending, and their families.

The centre will have rooms available for community use, play and day-care areas, as well as a toy library and a community cafe.