Plans for a new family centre in south Abingdon have won planning permission -- and work on the project, costing more than £500,000, should get under way next Easter.

The new building, due to open in the summer, will be on the Caldecott School site, which will also be used for housing.

Money from the sale of the land will be used to improve the primary school -- part of which will be demolished -- and go towards consolidating the Kingfisher Special Needs School at a single site in Radley Road.

The existing family centre operates from the old infants school building at Caldecott, having been forced to leave its former home at the South Abingdon Community Centre, in Saxton Road, which has since been demolished.

The centre, which is run by the charity NCH Action for Children for the county council, also includes a Sure Start scheme for Abingdon and Sutton Courtenay which, like the family centre, is already running.

Sure Start is a family support service designed to improve the lives of children under four.

The new single-storey centre will be built next to the school building and an area of land proposed for use as a joint community and school playing field.

The family centre currently provides drop-in sesssions for parents and young children, creches, a toy library, counselling and advice services, health promotion and education groups, after-school clubs and play schemes.

The new project is being financed by the Government and the county and district councils.

Abingdon South county councillor Neil Fawcett said: "I'm very pleased that this development will go ahead.

"It has taken a lot of work over the last few years by so many people in the local community."