A renovated child care facility in the Shankill area of Belfast has been relaunched, after £425,000 receiving of government funding.

Small Wonders Childcare, a new social economy business, was officially opened by Economy Minister Arlene Foster.

The new business, established by the Shankill Women's Centre, will create up to 12 full-time jobs and providing up to 24 full-time childcare places.

The Small Wonders Childcare facility was fully renovated at a cost of almost half a million pounds, funded by the Belfast Local Strategy Partnership through the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.

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Belfast City Council provided the land and funding for an Economic Development Officer.

Other support was delivered by Invest Northern Ireland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Lloyds Foundation and the PSNI.

Mentoring and guidance was provided by Workwest and Groundwork NI.

Minister Foster said: "The social economy in Northern Ireland contributes to the regeneration of areas of high social need by generating sources of income, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship and helping to create sustainable and cohesive communities.

"By operating Small Wonders Childcare as a business, it can deliver much needed high quality, efficient services to local people."

Betty Carlisle, Manager of the Shankill Women's Centre, said: "We have turned a derelict damaged building into a state of the art childcare facility which will provide a range of quality services for local children of unemployed people seeking to return to work or education."

(PR/JM)