A NEW restorative justice hub has been officially launched by Princess Anne.

The Princess Royal was welcomed to Darlington town hall by dozens of youngsters waving Union Flags, before being greeted by the mayor, Councillor Gerald Lee and chief executive of Darlington Borough Council, Ada Burns.

During her visit, she met the pioneers of the town’s Neighbourhood Resolution scheme, which brings perpetrators of low level crimes, antisocial behaviour and neighbourly disputes face-to-face with their victims to make amends, focusing on what the victim wants and needs.

Since its launch 18 months ago, more than 350 people have been referred to the team and around 90 members of the public have been trained as community restorative facilitators.

During her visit she met Teresa Lambert, 82, and Terence McGee, 68, who were the first people to be helped by the scheme following a neighbourly dispute.

She also met restorative justice volunteer of the year, Debbie Chamberlain, who has been involved with the programme since its launch in November 2013.

“People let you into their lives and into some really personal circumstances and you’ve really got to be respectful of that,” she said.

“It’s quite humbling to walk away from a situation and know that you’ve made a little bit of a difference as it means such a big deal to people and can really change lives for the better.”

Before unveiling a plaque to officially open the building, the Princess said: “What is really nice is to see how up here you have driven the restorative justice argument and done it so well, with so many volunteers.”

Council leader and chair of the Community Safety Partnership, Councillor Bill Dixon, added: “Darlington’s neighbourhood resolution programme is one of the most successful in the country and shows that by sitting down and talking with an independent person, people can understand the impact of their actions on others and amends can be made, having a positive impact on all involved.”

Darlington town hall was officially opened by Princess Anne on May 27, 1970.