WORK has begun on a new £6m college in a north Durham town.

Preliminary work on the Derwentside College, due to be completed by 2002, began at the site of Consett's former steelworks last week.

Meanwhile, a £2m expansion to the college's sixth form centre in nearby Lanchester is due to be completed by the start of the next academic year.

The Lanchester centre produced its first A-level students in 1999 and this year's results were seven per cent up on previous years. The new buildings mean that classrooms, a dedicated IT suite, dining room, kitchen, reception and conservatory will be added to the centre.

The purpose-built main centre in Consett will cover four acres, and will include a new science block and leisure complex. Centres in Stanley and Chester-le-Street are also be-ing refurbished.

The new Consett college, which received planning permission last April, was said by town planners to have a "striking" appearance and would dominate the area around Berry Edge Road.

More than 15 letters of objection were received by planners at Derwentside District Council from residents worried about an increase in traffic and general disturbance, but funding for the scheme was secured earlier this year.

A spokesman for the college said: "We are going from strength to strength. This work will enable us to keep up-to-date with the requirements of an educational establishment in the 21st Century."

The college employs about 300 staff, and has 900 full-time and 9,000 part-time students on its roll