Otley Children’s Centre has thrown a party to declare its new town centre base officially open.

The centre’s staff and services actually moved from Weston Lane into the Cross Green Community Centre at the end of October.

But they marked the start of a new era this month with a festive party featuring a Santa’s grotto, games and refreshments.

MP Greg Mulholland (Lib Dem, Leeds North West), who opened the centre in its original home in December, 2008, once again did the honours.

He said: “I was delighted to re-open Otley Children’s Centre at its fantastic new location in the Cross Green Community Centre.

“It does vital work in the community and provides a great service to many families across Otley.

“A huge well done to the children’s centre and the Cross Green Community Centre for all their work.”

The centre provides support and advice services to children under five and their families, focusing on the most disadvantaged, and aims to help all children reach their potential.

Despite taking place just after the move, the latest visit by Ofsted inspectors led to a report that concluded the centre was achieving a ‘good’ level of service across the board.

Centre manager Liz Oddy said: “It was so good to see our families and members of the community together.

“Our new health room was being used that day with parents busy having their children weighed, and they can also have their health checked.

“The centre has lots of courses running throughout the year including cookery and healthy living, first aid, learning about children’s behaviours and baby massage. There are also lots of groups on offer and we ask families to contact us or pop in to find out more.”

Councillor Sandy Lay (Lib Dem, Otley & Yeadon) added: “The centre does some really excellent work for children and families in Otley, and they are a really important part of the local community.”