DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott was visiting Gillingham today to dedicate the Sunlight Centre, which provides a range of services for local people.

Described as a healthy living centre, Sunlight was developed by converting a disused laundry building in Richmond Road, using £1 million of lottery funding.

It's the kind of project Mr Prescott has been advocating and he readily agreed to carry out the dedication.

"Healthy living, in this context, doesn't necessarily mean calorie controlled diets and regular exercise," said Peter Holbrook, the project manager. "It can mean helping people to feel good about themselves.

"We have an excellent cafe - and yes chips are on the menu - as well as a GP practice, a pharmacy, a children's day nursery, really nice counselling rooms, computers with free internet access and even a laundry.

"It's a very modern community centre. There is counselling for drink and drug addiction, complementary therapies, a DJ workshop for young offenders - even a breast feeding group called Suck it and See. I look on it as a kind of Bluewater for social and health needs."