WORK to create a £750,000 nursery for pre-school children on the former steelworks site at Consett is to start in spring.

The day care facility will care for up to 70 youngsters and create jobs for 15 people when it is completed.

Dysart Developments already has planning permission from Durham County Council and is talks with a childcare provider to take over the site.

Managing director Mark Short said: “It is very important when you think of all the new housing that is coming to the town. You have got lots of young families.

“Every time we put planning application forward for houses people always talk about the impact on nursery and schools places so we are looking to bring them forward.

“From a location point of view, in terms of supplementing the local house building that is going on, I think it is quite an important unit.”

The single storey building will be on the Ponds Court development, opposite the new Tesco superstore, and will have an outside garden and play area as well as teaching rooms and indoor play areas.

It is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2015.

Work is also due to start in spring for non-food retail unit on Front Street next to Derwentside College and over the next few years Dysart Developments is planning to create a multi-million retail park on the Project Genesis site.

Mr Short said: “We need to consider the impact on the rest of the town and will be targeting things like car sales and leisure-based retail like bowling alleys and bingo halls, things of that ilk.

“We are looking for opportunities that will complement what is already here, rather than create competition.”

Earlier in 2014, the company was given planning permission to build around 480 homes over the next seven years by Durham County Council, creating about 385 full time jobs.

Mr Short said: “There are quite a lot of people who work out of the area moving to Consett. There are a lot of commuters.

“A lot of people said when the new Tesco goes up it is going to decimate the town centre but, if nothing else, it has increased footfall.

“People are not travelling out of the area any more to do their shopping.

“The regeneration is helping the town massively.”