COMMUNITY sports and arts facilities worth £658,000 are opening next week.

The well-equipped development at Ebchester CE Primary School will be launched by Durham County Council chairman Councillor Ernie Foster on Tuesday.

It includes a modern multi-purpose sports hall, changing facilities, community entrance and office, refreshment area and a large arts room.

The new centre, developed through the Space for School and Arts Programme, is already benefiting Ebchester pupils and pupils from nearby schools, as well as people of all ages in Derwentside.

Ebchester headteacher Richard Coombes said: "We are delighted to have the new facilities on our school site, for the children we teach and for the many local people living in this rural area who want to participate in sport, enjoy the arts and be part of this thriving community.

"They allow us to reach many different aspects of the PE curriculum in a warm, safe and enjoyable environment for learning and allow us to consider lots of new activities outside school hours for our pupils and other young people in the local area."

Ebchester CE Primary is one of eight schools in County Durham that have been awarded grants to develop modern facilities for sports and arts.

Launched in 2000, the Space for School and Arts programme has a total commitment of £134m from Government and Lottery sources.

The aim is to improve inadequate facilities and widen access to sport and art in communities with the greatest need around the country.

Sport England, leading the scheme, has already distributed £110m of the funding package, with only 19 facilities at primary schools across England still to be completed.

Councillor Neil Foster, Durham County Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "This project had been planned in partnership with the school, the county council, Sport England and the Arts Council to provide state-of-the-art facilities at the very heart of local communities.

"If this type of investment enables the young people of Ebchester to start to participate in PE, sport and the arts, encourages them to stayed involved and ultimately allows them to reach their full potential, then it is money very well spent."