A MUCH-needed recreation centre for young people in Ferryhill could be open by the end of the year.

Planning permission has been granted for the development in a former electrical store in the town centre.

Contracts on the building are expected to be exchanged within a month and work should begin soon after, subject to final approval for a Single Regeneration Budget grant.

The centre, which will be for 13 to 18-year-olds, will have an information technology suite and Internet links, as well as training facilities.

Staffed by qualified youth workers, the centre will include a recreation area, with pool tables, televisions, a lounge, garden and seating area. There will also be a refreshment area.

The project is the flagship scheme of the Ferryhill Community Partnership.

It has been funded by Ferryhill Town Council, Sedgefield Borough Council and Impact, an organisation providing education for children not in mainstream schools.

The need for such a facility was identified in the recent Ferryhill appraisal.

That showed 80 per cent of households were dissatisfied with youth provision in Ferryhill, and only 26 out of 203 young people said the town was a good place for them.

The partnership set up a youth forum, which meets regularly and is in the process of designing the layout of the facility. Peter Atkinson, vice-chairman of the Ferryhill Community Partnership, said: "This really is an exciting project.

"It's something that was identified very early on when we did the survey.

"It all pointed in the same direction - that we needed somewhere for the youth of Ferryhill to gather.

"When this building, that is very central in the village, came up for sale it was seen as an ideal location for the venture.

"It's very exciting for the partnership that this is going to come to fruition.

"It's a much-needed project and one of those things that we're hoping has a positive effect on the village, especially for young people in Ferryhill."

It is hoped that the building, which could also eventually house a town museum, will be ready to open by the end of this year.