A VILLAGE is celebrating after the opening of a £170,000 learning centre which will benefit adult learners.

The learning centre, in Gilling West near Richmond, was officially opened on Saturday, by Richmond MP William Hague.

The centre will specialise in computer skills training, but will offer a wide range of subjects.

Ward councillor William Heslop said the project had brought villagers closer together.

He said: "It has been an excellent project from the start. It has been good for village morale.

"The centre will benefit a lot of people in Gilling West and the surrounding area, and we look forward to welcoming people from all over Yorkshire and beyond to our village."

Several courses have already begun, with a course in property development attracting learners from all around Yorkshire. Language and flower arranging courses are also ongoing.

The centre will be run initially by the village action group, which has spent the past four years planning and raising funds to build the facility.

Michael Gauntlett, of the action group, said: "The reaction in the village has been very good.

The centre was designed to provide courses and training that will be of interest to people from the locality.

"It's early days, but the courses are getting good attendance, not just from Gilling West but from around the county."

The centre, built as an annexe to the village hall, has been four years in the making. The idea for such a centre was first discussed at a public meeting in 2003, when the action group was formed.

An Awards for All grant, in 2004, paid for an architect and a surveyor to finalise the plans and planning approval was granted in 2005.

The project received a £50,000 capital grant, nearly £85,000 from the European regional development fund, £20,000 from North Yorkshire County Council, £10,000 from Richmondshire District Council and £5,000 from the village charitable trust. It is hoped the centre will be self-supporting within three years, when funding from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities programme is due to run out.

For more information on courses offered at the centre, visit www.gillingwest.org.uk