PLANS are being made to open A women's day centre is being set up to help people who are recovering from addiction as part of an initiative to reduce reoffending.

The centre, at Low Newton prison’s training centre in Brasside, Durham, is aimed at vulnerable women taking part in treatment and recovery programmes for drug and alcohol addiction.

Amanda Healy, director of public health at Durham County Council, which is launching the service, said: “In County Durham, we have a statutory responsibility to help people to recover from drug and alcohol addiction.

“The proposal, drawn up in partnership with HMP Low Newton, will be an extension of our existing service with an emphasis on helping vulnerable women and families from across the county rebuild their lives.”

As well as the day centre, the council is planning to use three houses in nearby Finchale Avenue as a place for between six and nine women to live.

The scheme is a joint project between the council, HMP Low Newton, which owns the building, and Public Health England, which has given it £200,000.

The council says the Women’s Centre, which will operate in a similar way to one in Whinney Hill, Durham, will focus on recovery based services and not contain a needle exchange, or any clinical interventions for addictions.

Support will be given to the women attending the centre who are not living in the accommodation to be transported out of the area at the end of the day.

A series of sessions to inform people who live in Brasside about the changes are being held.

The first one took place last week, with others planned for August 30, September 5 and 6.

Ms Healy added: “We are grateful to have received a grant of £200,000 from Public Health England for the capital element of the scheme, which would support women who are already engaged with our treatment and recovery programmes.

“The views of local people are important to us, which is why we have written to Brasside residents to outline our plans and offer face-to-face meetings.”

Renovations will be made to the training centre, which will still be used by the prison service for staff training.

The council has also said that the environment around the training centre building will be landscaped to ensure the neighbourhood is adequately managed for the benefit of local residents.

This will include proposals for parking and access to the roads and CCTV.

The management of the women recruited into the scheme will be local company Humankind, which runs the County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service.

All the women will be local residents or waiting to be resettled into County Durham.

Proposals to changes the houses in Finchale Avenue will be subject to planning permission.