PAVILION on the Park is taking shape and the new £2.5m community building is on course for completion later this year.

Replacing the ageing Nightingale Centre, Pavilion in the Park is being built on the site of the former Fleming Park Golf Course clubhouse.

It will include a large, multi-purpose hall suitable for sports, plus new accommodation for community, youth and children's groups.

It will also provide new headquarters for the Red Cross, Air Training Corps and Army Cadet Force.

A feature of the development will be the uncovering of a stream which flows down from North End copse and into Monks Brook. It was put into underground pipes many years ago.

Eastleigh council leader, Keith House, said: "The Nightingale Centre has been a popular focal point for the community for 40 years. I'm sure this new building will prove an even better venue, in a particularly attractive setting."

Eastleigh's Nightingale Centre was opened in 1966 by Princess Margaret, on land leased by the council to a trust. Later, it was managed by the Senators Marching Band.

The new Pavilion in the Park will be managed by Eastleigh Youth Trust, which is currently responsible for the Nightingale Centre.

The trustees have secured a lottery grant for funding a large mosaic to be displayed at the entrance to the building.

It is currently being made by pupils from Quilley School of Engineering and Nightingale Primary School.