A NEW badminton centre has been officially opened.

The facility at Belmont Community School, in Belmont, Durham, was funded with a £78,000 grant from Badminton England, plus support from the school and Belmont Community Association.

It will serve as a hub for Badminton England’s Smash Up! initiative to encourage young people to take up the sport.

Anita Steven, the school’s assistant head teacher, said: “We have a long history of sporting achievement at the school and a proud record of working with Belmont Community Association, local and national partners.

“Being able to facilitate a high-quality regional badminton hub will enable us to support on-going development of sport both within the school and community.

“We are immensely proud of this new development, which in addition to the recently refurbished Astro turf, is another stage in our plans to continue improving our sporting facilities.”

Julia Strong, community game director at Badminton England, said: “We are delighted to help Belmont Community School to fund this refurbishment.”