A UNIQUE multi-million pound urban village is to be built on a Heysham estate next year.

Work on the Mossgate Park development - which includes a library, sports centre, dental surgery, community centre, 400 homes and a police station - should start at Christmas.

The £6 million project MAC Construction project, which has been on and off for years, was finally given the nod after being labelled 'an exceptional case' by the Government.

It was 'called in' by New Labour after planning consent for the Heysham firm to build on the green field site ran out.

But Deputy prime Minister John Prescott announced this week: "Whilst there is a period of housing restraint in Lancaster district, the completion of the scheme will allow for the provision of new community facilities and will add to the choice of housing for new residents investing in Morecambe and Heysham as part of its regeneration."

The news means that new jobs will be created on the site - and also that the threatened posts of employees at MAC construction are now safeguarded.

Over the years, cash from the sale of houses on Mossgate Park had been put aside for the community development by the building firm.

Lancashire County Council has already set aside £1 million for a new state-of-the-art library.

An outline application for the neighbourhood centre, which will include the refurbishment of Douglas Park, has also been agreed by Lancaster city planners. But the final draft is currently being put together.

Diggers are expected on the site by December.

County councillor Jean Yates told the Citizen: "It is truly wonderful news and an absolute Godsend for the people of Heysham. This needs to happen because by 2010 there will be 20,000 people in Heysham and we need to cater for them. This will be a unique centre.

"We are so pleased with the result and it means we now know where Heysham is going. It is great news for the residents and for local groups and organisations who will have state-of-the-art facilities to use."

Malcolm Townsend, director of MAC Construction, says the news is a great relief.

"Ironically, I was at the accountants when the news came, facing having to make people redundant because there was not enough work.

"It also means that the money for community facilities can now be used for just that."

The project lost funding in March this year after Sport Eng-land pulled the plug on cash it had promised.

It was feared that the sports facilities envisaged in the draft plan could no longer be provided, but that will no longer be the case.

However, Cllr Yates says the sport facilities may come in two phases so that more cash can be secured.

Plans for a cycle path and a new bus route are also on the table.