THE first of a series of council-run multi-purpose centres has been opened in Hetton-le-Hole.

The £3m Hetton Centre is the first of six that Sunderland City Council plans to build as part of its Peoplefirst initiative, by which it hopes to retain its "excellent" rating in performance assessments.

The centre brings together community facilities and gives people easier access to services provided by the council and other public bodies.

It has a community library, electronic village hall and is a base for organisations including Hetton Town Council, Northumbria Police, social services, the Sunderland Housing Group and the Hetton Community Learning College.

It also has a full-sized floodlit football pitch and 250-capacity stand, training and changing facilities, a community cafZ, bar, function room, creche and outdoor play area.

The council also plans to replace the nearby leisure centre and swimming pool with new facilities, which will bring the total cost of the project to £7m.

It is also proposing to open a community service centre.

The money for the centre, and others planned in the area, has come from the proceeds of council house sales and a share of the sale of Newcastle Airport.

Sunderland's Mayor, Peter Gibson, said: "The Hetton Centre is a first-class development and an excellent example of a community-based multi-purpose centre.

"Its development is proof of the council's commitment to the regeneration of the former coalfields area of Sunderland, and to Hetton-le-Hole in particular, and its superb facilities for many years.''

Council chief executive Colin Sinclair said: "With so many superb facilities under one roof, we believe the Hetton Centre will be a real asset for the whole community.

"It is also a taste of things to come under our Peoplefirst initiative, which is all about improving council services and making them and other public services easier to use.

"We want people across the city to be able to enjoy the kind of superb facilities that the Hetton Centre has to offer, and with this in mind, we are proposing to provide a similar multi-purpose in each of the six areas of the city.