DIRECTORS and parents of a non-profit-making facility for young children saw their dream fulfilled on Saturday with the opening of a new £70,000 nursery building in Barnard Castle.

The Green Lane Nursery and Childcare Centre was established in September 2001 in a room of an annexe at Barnard Castle CE Primary School with only nine children between the ages of two to four.

It soon became apparent that the facility was in such demand that a large waiting list was drawn up within six months and parents began asking if it could provide all- day care.

In response, the directors at the nursery, a private limited company, set the wheels in motion for a purpose-built building in the school's playground that would provide a dedicated pre-nursery and all- day care unit.

First they needed to raise £70,000 and were delighted when the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) provided £37,000 towards the project.

The funding came from Defra's Rural Development Service North-East.

Matching funding came from various other sources including the Early Years Partnership, Teesdale Enterprise Fund, savings and a bank loan. The project has also created ten jobs.

Linda Poulter, child care manager, said: "The building team arrived in January and the schoolchildren were fascinated by what was going on in their playground.

"The nursery children made regular trips to the site to see the progress.

"It's been a long, long road, and there were times I thought it was never going to happen, but we have overcome the hurdles with the help and support of the team at Defra."

Kenneth Hayes, rural development advisor with Defra's Rural Development Service North-East, said: "It is a wonderful example of how money from the England Rural Development Programme can be used to support a social and community project, which in turn offers opportunities for parents in rural areas to gain part-time employment.

"Such opportunities are particularly important for those in farming communities.''