A FORMER pub has been transformed into a one-stop community facility after years of planning.

All the hard work paid off this week when the Dene Valley Community Partnership opened the doors of what will become a central meeting place for residents in Eldon Lane and the surrounding villages.

It has cost £311,551 to transform the Top House pub in Eldon Lane into a state of the art facility that includes an IT suite, caf, kitchen and interview and meeting rooms.

The facility has been funded through a range of sources including, the Community Fund, The Tudor Trust, One North-East, Wear Valley District Council and County Durham Foundation.

Chairman of Dene Valley Community Partnership Margaret Ingledew said she is proud of the new building which is a much needed facility for the former mining community.

She said: "We were in a two up two down terrace in Spencer Street and it just became too small because more and more people were using it.''

Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster officially opened the new building on Monday.

He said: "This community has suffered greatly over the years and this is about people getting involved and renewing their own communities.

"This is a tremendous new facility and it means the community can move on with new confidence.''

Mrs Ingledew said the Top House had been closed for almost two years but the partnership felt it was ideal for what they wanted

Already the children's breakfast club has doubled in membership with 35 children coming along to the centre to have breakfast before being taken to school on the community bus.

There are also library books and other resources available for loan and interest has been shown from different community groups looking forward to making the building their permanent base.

Mrs Ingledew said: "I am totally in awe of it. It seems so long ago that we started planning this and now we are set up I cannot believe how fantastic it is.''