A nursery has opened as part of a new purpose-built community centre.

Ringle Rainbow Nursery is based at the St Faith’s Centre in Ringlestone which opened this summer.

The new centre, on the corner of Chatham Road and Moncktons Lane, will play a dual role acting as both a community hub for residents, as well as a place of worship for the congregation of the former St Faith’s Church in Maidstone town centre.

Last month the site held an official opening event, offering a chance to thank those involved in the project.

Kent county and borough councillor Ian Chittenden unveiled a plaque while the Mayor Cllr Gordon Newton, cut a ribbon with the help of nursery manager Penny Reidy to mark the opening of the new child care facility housed within the centre.

The £1.6m centre is the culmination of an 11-year project.

It is built on the site of the old church hall and was funded partly by developers’ Section 106 contributions and partly by the sale of the former St Faith’s Church to the Lighthouse Church.

The vicar, the Rev Canon Arthur Houston, said: "This was a building where the teamwork was great, we all worked together really well, and it was a great joy to be a part of it.

"We've got two goals: it's to serve the local community and to grow the church.

"We want to be a big congregation that serves the community and brings the good news of our faith."

Church services are held each Sunday in the main hall, and the centre also has a café, meeting rooms and a quiet space.

Building work was carried out with the environment in mind, including features such as triple glazing.

Richard Hawkes was the architect for the centre. He said: “By using local materials from the vicinity, it inherently helped give the building a strong sense of place, that it belongs.

“All the insulation is made from recycled newspapers; it’s like a big ski jacket around the building to help reduce the energy consumption.

“We actually took the old building, crushed it, and it’s formed the bedding of the base underneath the new building, so effectively the new St Faith’s Centre is sitting on the foundations of the old building.”

The new centre has parking for 15 cars, with one electric charging point. The building is powered by roof-top solar panels.